


Mao Mao Drabbles and Prompts

by Floopaslopp



Series: Next Gen Collection [3]
Category: Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart (Cartoon)
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Awkward Flirting, Bars, Blind Character, Clubbing, Electricity, F/M, Father-Son Relationship, Fights, Fluff, Helmet Kiss, Ice Cream, Implied Sexual Content, Kissing, Mild Blood, Morning After, Next Generation, Non-Consensual Touching, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romantic Tension, Sibling Bonding, Sleepy Cuddles, Spoilers for The Quest of a Lifetime, Suggestive Themes, Tanya being a protective mom, Teenage Mao Mao, Teenage Tanya Keys, Werewolves are mentioned, fankid, improper use of a lollipop, misuse of magic, tanyamao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:28:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25120888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Floopaslopp/pseuds/Floopaslopp
Summary: This is a collection of short drabbles I am doing on my Tumblr where peeps send me prompts! These drabbles can range from when Mao Mao was a teenager, till almost eighteen years post Quest of a Lifetime.I recommend reading my Tumblr before some of these drabbles. There are some characters that just... don't make sense unless you read up about them first.( floopaslopp.tumblr.com )
Relationships: Mao Mao Mao & Original Character(s), Tanya Keys & Mao Mao Mao, Tanya Keys/Mao Mao Mao
Series: Next Gen Collection [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1770625
Comments: 19
Kudos: 39





	1. "Let's get this over with" (Sun and Mao Mao)

**Author's Note:**

> The chapter title is the prompt :))
> 
> PLEASE READ THE FICS IN THIS SERIES BEFORE READING THIS! THANKS!

Usually, when his dad was smiling, Sun would smile as well; it was nice seeing him happy.

The current grin on Mao Mao’s face, however, was anything but comforting.

“You ready, Sun?” The cat asked, unable to hide the glee in his tone.

“Dad, I’m not sure how this is supposed to help-”

“That doesn’t sound like you’re ready!”

Sun sighed and slid on his helmet, buckling it under his chin. “...Fine, I’m ready.”

“Remember to avoid, block, or hit back the projectiles by using your dice. This is to teach you how to-”

“I know I know, let’s just get this over with,” Sun muttered; this wasn’t the first time his father had thrown stuff at him and disguised it as training, probably wouldn’t be the last time either. The canuki got into battle position; his haunches bent while his dice was ready to be thrown. “3…2-”

“Start!” Mao Mao interrupted, throwing a metal wrench at his son even before he had counted down to one.

“W-wait, I haven’t-!!

_THUNK!_

There was a moment of silence as Mao Mao watched the younger boy slowly slide to the floor, cupping his paws over his crotch; the canuki’s face screwed up in pain.

The cat sighed and walked over; looking down at the teenager, who was currently curled up on the ground withering in pain; getting a wrench to the nuts was anything but fun. "You forgot the first rule of being a hero, _always_ be prepared for anything!”

Sun only groaned in response.


	2. "I'll take you there" (Teen Mao Mao and Tanya)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is the prompt :))
> 
> PLEASE READ THE FICS IN THIS SERIES BEFORE READING THIS! THANKS!

“I’ll take you there.”

Tanya blinked, surprised, and turned around to meet his determined gaze. The cat couldn’t have been any older than she was, around seventeen, yet his eyes were filled with a fire she hadn’t seen from a kid before; he suddenly looked a lot tougher than the small hormonal teenager she had written him off to be.

The cat, Mao Mao he had called himself, was seemingly growing unnerved by her silence; his eyes falling to the ground where one her leaves laid, “I mean, you said you wanted to go to Spadeville, right? You would have to cross Behe Moth forest to get there and that place is filled with looters. It’s a hero’s job to protect the weak, so I’d be happy to escort you!”

He met her gaze once again, this time a cocky grin was spread from cheek to cheek.

Tanya couldn’t help but chuckle, “You’d really go out of your way to help a little girl like me?”

“Of course!” Mao Mao’s eyes followed her as Tanya stepped closer, “I’ll do anything to be a hero and live up to my family’s legacy.”

“Well then, I’m afraid I’d be wasting your time.” She sighed dramatically; the confused expression was wiped from his face when she suddenly laid a paw gently on his cheek. “I am _much_ more dangerous than I look, Hero. You’d only slow me down.”


	3. "I'm here, I got your back" (Sun and Marmalade)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is the prompt :))
> 
> PLEASE READ THE FICS IN THIS SERIES BEFORE READING THIS! THANKS!
> 
> This is one where you REALLY need to read my Tumblr to understand haha. To give you the basic rundown, Marmalade is Adorabat and Sun's best friend, and the apprentice under Honey in the castle. She is a lot like Badgerclops, as she likes to build things, but she's also kinda blunt like him too. Check out the Marmalade tag on my Tumblr to find out more about her!
> 
> ( floopaslopp.tumblr.com )

Sun’s head was pounding even before he managed to open his eyes. The air was thick with dust, which coated the inside of his mouth and throat; making breathing nearly impossible. He coughed, only to let out a whimper of pain from the movement; his legs were throbbing and seemingly trapped under something hard and heavy. A pillar? A rock? The ringing in his ears was making it difficult to concentrate.

_Where…where am I?_

As he slowly came to consciousness, he forced his eyes opened; only to blink them close when only red clouded his vision.

_I think… blood is dripping into my eyes. I must’ve hit my head._

Forcing himself to open them once again, he gently shook his head until the crusty redness was dislodged.

Now all he could see, which wasn’t much considering how much dust was in the air, was rubble. It towered over and around him, blocking out the sky and leaving the canuki in darkness.

_There… was a villain, right? Some criminal guy… is that how I ended up down here? I can’t think clearly…._

Sun attempted to look back at what was pinning him, but it was fruitless; any movement only caused the debris to wiggle and send jolts of pain up his spine. He let his head lay against the concrete floor; his mind racing while the ringing in his ears continued.

_I can’t remember… was everyone else with me? Dad, Badgerclops, Adorabat… Marmalade? Are they down here too? Are they okay?_

The ringing was getting louder.

_If I had my Dice I might be able to pull myself out but… I don’t know where it is… is it in the rubble or in my belt? Maybe if I had it on me I could just reach down under the pillar and-_

**“Bzzt…”**

_…No, that wouldn't work, I can’t reach my belt with my legs pinned like this. I can’t risk the rubble falling on me… crap… I don’t know what to do…father never trained me for something like this…_

**“sun…”**

_And I can't think with this buzzing in my ears! Honestly, it’s getting hard to think at all…_

**“Sun!”**

_…buzzing in my…ears… wait, that isn’t…_

**“SUN!”**

The canuki’s eyes snapped open and he raised his head off the floor; his ears perked, listening carefully to the tiny grainy voice in his ear.

**“C-can you hear me?! I’m not sure if the earpiece is still working, or hell, if you’re even conscious…”**

_…Right! My earpiece isn’t broken! I can hear Marmalade!_

Sun opened his mouth, yet all that could escape was a tiny whine; he was in desperate need of water.

**“Speak to me! Are you there?!”**

“m-marmie…” He managed to murmur after a few gentle coughs.

 **“SUN! Oh, thank god! _I have him, Adorabat!”_ **Her voice grew quieter as she obviously leaned away from her mic to speak to the bat, but it didn’t take long for her to return, **“Are you alright?! Mao Mao and Badgerclops have your location and are coming-”**

“t-t-the villain…did i-”

There was a pause, and then an audible scoff came over the line, **“Yeah, you got him, but the guy managed to fire one of his stupid arm cannons at a weak pillar and brought the whole building down.”**

Sun’s eyes widened in fear, “w-were you guys-”

 **“No, we were still in town getting statements when we heard the explosion.”** Marmalade paused again, murmuring something quietly to herself that he couldn’t hear, before sighing into the mic. **“It’s worrying you can’t remember.”**

“i-i think i hit m-my head…” Sun let his forehead rest against the concrete flooring once again; watching as his blood pooled on the ground near him. It stood out brightly against the dim and dusty ground, and he couldn't help but find it pretty.

 **“Wait, you have a head injury?! You could’ve started with that before getting all heroic with me!”** Marmalade hissed, her tone laced with fear, **“Is there anything else we should know about?”**

“my legs…they’re s-stuck under rubble.” _My head is getting fuzzy…_

He was able to hear her yell for someone else, alongside the murmur of another voice over the earpiece, but it was getting difficult to concentrate. Sun closed his eyes.

“…i think…i should sleep now.”

Her voice came back. **“N-no, Sun, wait! Stay with me! Keep on talking, don’t close your eyes!”** Marmalade yelled, causing the canuki to flinch at the sudden noise.

“so tired…”

 **“J-just stay with me! Badgerclops and Mao Mao will be there soon!”** Her voice was growing higher in pitch, she sounded terrified. **“shit…um… t-that stupid show you like… Tail of the Universe or something! The new episode came out last night, right? Tell me about it!”**

Sun blinked open his eyes, “…h-how did you know about the new episode…”

**“I’d be a shitty friend if I didn’t listen, right? That lame-ass show is all you talk about, so of course, I know when it airs.”**

Sun managed to chuckle, which unfortunately triggered a coughing fit.

**“S-Sun! You okay?”**

He caught his breath, and closed his eyes once again. “heh……you aren’t calling me that stupid nickname…”

_**“Huh?”** _

“y-y-you’re calling me sun…you never do that. you always say _gummy_ or w-whatever…”

Marmalade fell silent, leaving Sun alone with the sounds of creaking stone and his own labored breaths.

“…i like it when you call me sun.” He muttered, mostly to himself.

It was now her turn to chuckle, and the sound was enough to bring a small smile to the canuki’s blood-splattered face.

**“Well, survive this and I’ll call you anything you want, big guy.”**

Sun closed his eyes once again; the dust was beginning to irritate them, although the smile stayed in place, “…i-i think I need to stop talking… it’s getting difficult to breathe.”

 **“…alright, Sun. Save your strength.”** Her voice was growing quiet as if she was whispering in his ear. **“I’m still here and I have your back. I’m not leaving your side…”**

“…thank you marmalade.”


	4. In Secret Kisses (Tanya and Mao Mao)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is the prompt :))
> 
> PLEASE READ THE FICS IN THIS SERIES BEFORE READING THIS! THANKS!
> 
> This one gets a bit steamy haha

"I really don't have time for this right now, Tanya." Mao Mao sighed, not even sparing a glance in her direction.

"Do you mean you don't have time for this conversation or time for  _ me."  _ The tanuki raised an eyebrow, placing a hand on her hip.

Mao Mao, finally turning to meet her gaze, gave her a quizzical frown; his hands still pressed harshly against the traveler he was pushing into the alley wall. "Uh...both? I'm kinda in the middle of something."

" _ Yeah, beat it girlie." _ The weasel, who was currently being arrested, mumbled against the brick wall; only for his face to be pressed even deeper into the surface.

"Hey, did I say you could talk?" Mao Mao muttered. "You're already in trouble, buster. Don't make it worse."

Tanya rolled her eyes, ignoring the exchange. "Look, all I'm asking Mittens is that you ease up on Sun. I've seen the dark circles that boy has, and I  _ know _ you've been keeping him up with your little  _ hero _ exercises-"

"I'm not doing anything he hasn't agreed to."

"That's the problem." She groaned, shaking her head in an exasperated manner. "That boy of ours will agree to  _ anything _ as long as it makes us happy, and it's rather obvious you are pushing him to his limit, even if both you  _ and _ he can't see it."

The weasel snorted, his words muffled,  _ "Your kid sounds like a loser-" _

_ "Watch it!"  _ Mao Mao and Tanya hissed in unison.

"...And see, that's the problem." Mao Mao looked back at the tanuki, his ears flattened still from the weasel's comment. "He  _ has _ a limit. By the time I'm finished with him, he should be able to go on nightly reconnaissance for a week without rest!"

The cat finally peeled the weasel off the wall, after handcuffing their paws together; keeping them restrained. "So no, I won't 'ease' up on Sun. If he truly wants to become a real hero, this is what it takes."

"...it takes a lost childhood, a ravaged sleep schedule, and an uncaring father?" Tanya questioned, snarky.

"Uh...duh? That's what I had, and I'm  _ quite _ the legendary hero." Mao Mao began to walk past Tanya out of the alley, pushing the handcuffed traveler to move forward as well. "And if you don't agree with my teaching practices, you can  _ bite me-" _

Before the cat could put his lightning-quick reflexes to work, he suddenly found himself pressed against the alley wall, with Tanya's paws pressing into his shoulders; her cyan eyes burrowing into his own. He couldn't focus on the distant sound of her magic in action, all of his attention was suddenly pulled to the woman pinning him to the alley wall.

_ "W-what are you doing?!"  _ He spluttered, unprepared for the unplanned closeness.

"Hm, sorry, I thought that  _ bite me _ comment was an invitation," Tanya smirked, showing off her sharp canines.

"You can't be s-serious! My-" His eyes widened, and he turned his attention away from Tanya to the alley. Other than them, it was empty. " _ Gah _ , the criminal! He ran off!  _ Tanya Keys!" _

"Calm your mittens, Mittens." She chuckled softly, and he could feel the vibrations from where their chests were pressed against one another. "I  _ poofed _ him into a leaf when I grabbed you."

Mao Mao felt like he was gonna have a heart attack,  _ this woman,  _ "T-then where is he? I can't see any leaves-" Tanya leaned in even closer, their noses brushing, and his words ended in a squeak; the cat suddenly felt far too much like a teenager.

"I suppose he must've just blown away~"

"That is so irresponsible!"

"You love it."

"Grr.... _ m-maybe a little..." _

Tanya chuckled again, and  _ god those vibrations were driving him crazy.  _ Her smirk softened into a sly smile, and he couldn't help but stare at her lips as she closed the distance and-

Mao Mao couldn't even remember the last time they had kissed like this, nonetheless been this close. Her paws remained on his shoulders, pinning him to the wall; which was probably for the best since his knees felt like buckling. One of his gloved paws found purchase on her cheek, while the other grabbed onto her waist as his life depended on it. Tanya smirked into the kiss at the feeling of his tight grip.

It was only when she pulled away did he breathe, his chest heaving as air finally filled his lungs. "Tanya-"

Their muzzles met again, albeit much messier. He groaned softly into her mouth as she bit at his lip. When he finally did pull away, she growled at the loss of contact. "T-this is  _ very _ unlawful, Keys."

"If that's the case Sheriff, then you should-"

"Don't say it-"

_ "-punish me~" _

_ "Tanya..."  _ Mao Mao hissed softly, closing his eyes, exasperated.

"...This wouldn't be happening if you'd let Sun take a break every once in a while, y' know." She licked her lips teasingly.

"Please don't bring our son's name into this." Mao Mao groaned, "Jeez, what am I even doing..."

"Well Sheriff Mittens, if you play your card perfectly,  _ me _ ." Her grin widened at his shocked expression. "And I really do mean perfectly."

Tanya pressed her muzzle to his cheek, pressing a soft kiss there; Mao Mao shivered. "So, are you gonna take Badgerclops, Adorabat, and most importantly  _ Sun _ for ice cream tonight?"

"D-Dice training is usually tonight-"

_ "Exactly~" _

"W-well I-"

_ "Uh, Dad? You around here? _ "

Both Mao Mao and Tanya's ears perked at the distant sound of Sun; although neither moved from their position.

"Hm, sounds like you better make up your mind quickly."

"You can't be serious-"

_ "Dad?" _

"3..."

"Why ice cream-"

"2..."

_ "Hellllooo, dad?" _

"Tanya-"

"1-"

"Gah!" Mao Mao pushed Tanya off him, his paws planted firmly on his hips, "N-no, I'm not gonna cancel his training just because you're dangling yourself in front of me like some sort of-"

"Oh, there you are Dad!" Sun suddenly poked his head into the alley, smiling brightly and innocently, "Oh, hey Mom! Didn't know you were here too."

"Hi, Kitten." She purred, before glancing back at the cat; her gaze teasing, "and that was the  _ wrong _ answer, Mittens. Maybe next time, then."

"Uh, what are you two talking about?" Sun asked.

"Nothing dear, just some adult stuff." Tanya smiled far too innocently. "Why were you looking for your father?"

"Oh, yeah! Well, I was gonna ask him about this! I found it blowing around in the main square." The canuki pulled a leaf out from his belt. "But now that you're here, it's kinda obvious where it came from."

"Ah, and there’s your weasel guy, Mittens." Tanya chuckled, "Lucky you!"

Mao Mao, looking suddenly far too tired for his age, sighed. "yeah... lucky me."


	5. "I'm going to choke you" (Sun and Em)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is the prompt :))
> 
> PLEASE READ THE FICS IN THIS SERIES BEFORE READING THIS! THANKS!
> 
> Em is another one of my ocs! Read my Tumblr to find out more about her!

When Badgerclops entered the kitchen after working on the Aerocycle all day, he hadn't expected to see a group of teens huddled around the table in various states of exhaustion. Yet there they were, looking depressed.

_Aw great..._ Badgerclops thought to himself pessimistically. _Teenager stuff._

Adorabat had taken the chair closet to the door and had slumped backwards into it; her neck was bent over the headrest and her eyes were glued to the ceiling. Her short fur was ruffled, and based on what the badger knew about the girl, she was ready to conk out.

In the middle seat, with his back to the fridge, was Sun; his arms were folded onto the table and his head was buried deep into the crook of his elbow, keeping his face from view. It was an out of character position for the canuki, Badgerclops was used to seeing the teen always sucking up to his father and having perfect posture; although the badger wouldn't exactly say this was a change for the better. Honestly, Sun kinda looked like shit sitting like that; the seventeen-year-old had definitely seen better days.

Meanwhile, Marmalade was furthest away from the door, with her feet propped up onto the table next to Sun's head, and her chair leaning dangerously on only it's back legs. She surprisingly seemed less tired than the other two, instead, her expression was quizzical; as if she was trying to figure out a difficult mathematical equation. When Badgerclops entered the room, however, her golden eyes met his.

Only then did he realize he walked into silence. _They must be really tired if they're not yelling and stuff..._

"C'mon man, get your feet off the table." Badgerclops frowned, carefully making his way around Sun's chair so he could reach the fridge; his glare directed at the orange cat, "I eat food there, y'know."

_"You and your food..."_ Marmalade rolled her eyes. "If you're using a plate you shouldn't have to worry."

"It's still gross." Badgerclops huffed, burying his nose into the fridge. "I don't want your nasty ass paws anywhere near my tacos."

"Jeez, fine." The cat pulled her paws off the table, and her chair fell back down into place; making a rather large _bang_ in the process.

Adorabat's head immediately snapped up into position at the sound, her eyes wide, "I'm awake! Where's the monster?!"

"No monster. Just Badgerclops." Marmalade sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly. _"They're the same thing if you ask me-"_

"Hey, watch it." Badgerclops slammed the fridge shut, and placed the ingredients for a sandwich on the counter beside him. "Why are you three here anyway, it's like..."

Badgerclops blinked, clearly looking for the time in his cybernetically enhanced mind. "...8 pm. I thought you'd be out doing something."

"I wish!" Adorabat groaned, "Instead we gotta sit here and figure out this stupid problem..."

"Uhh, problem?" Badgerclops paused. "If you have an issue you should just shoulder it onto Mao Mao, that's what I do-"

"I don't think this is something he can fix." Marmalade huffed, annoyed. "It's about Em Fatal."

Badgerclops frowned as he slathered mayo onto his bread, "Uh... isn’t that that fox thief women?"

_"hmmmf hmf ghmmmmmf."_

The badger glanced back towards the table at the sound of a familiar mumble, "Dude, I couldn't hear you."

Sun raised his head off the table, " _Arctic_ fox thief women." He corrected, before burying his nose back into his arms once again. Badgerclops wished he could've seen the canuki's expression, but since the badger was standing behind him, it was a bit difficult; Sun had sounded awful.

"Uh huh... right." He raised an eyebrow, turning back to his in-progress sandwich, "So what's the issue with her?"

"She's back in town," Marmalade grumbled.

"And we haven't seen her since we drove her outta the village a few months ago!" Adorabat added.

"Uh, I thought she got away cause you three didn't have evidence of a crime being committed?"

"T-that's beside the point!" The orange cat huffed, placing her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands. "Today when Dora and Gummy were on patrol, they ran into her while she was just... _I don't know_ , strolling around town or something!"

"Why is that a problem?"

"The problem is with how she behaves! She acts like...like..."

Adorabat slapped her wings on the table, "Like she wants to eat Sun and me alive!"

Badgerclops hesitated before putting the meat down on his bread, only to turn around fully to look at Adorabat eye to eye, "What the _hell_ does that mean?"

Adorabat opened her mouth to answer, only to be interpreted by Sun _finally_ lifting his head off the table and turning around to meet the badger's gaze

"S-she's like Evangeline," Sun muttered, his cheeks a fiery crimson. Badgerclops immediately understood.

_Wait... isn't Evangeline that flirty criminal guy from Tails of the Cosmos, that sci-fi show Sun and I watch? Oh boy...don't tell me..._

"So we have another _Tanya keys_ situation on her hands...damn," Badgerclops mumbled, remembering back to when Tanya would flirt with Mao Mao mercilessly during their battles.

"Uh... what was that about my mo-"

"Forget about it." The badger huffed. "So I'm guessing the issue is that this _Em_ chick makes you three uncomfortable?"

"Well, I haven't met her in person, but I always have to hear what she's saying to these two through their earpieces!" Marmalade wrinkled her nose. "It's awful to listen to."

"Yeah, she's always calling me cute and stuff. Which is true, I _am_ adorable, but it's super weird coming from her!" Adorabat cried.

Sun's blush was seemingly growing stronger by the minute, and he looked like he wanted nothing more than to put his head on the table again, "T-that's not the only issue. When she...um...t-touches me I get all distracted so she always manages to e-escape... Whenever I think I _finally_ got her, she somehow gets the upper hand by getting all t-touchyfeely or whatever..." His words were growing quieter and quieter as he continued.

"So I'm guessing you're trying to figure out a way to make her stop this flirting stuff?"

"Exactly!" Marmalade nodded. "If there was something Sun or Adorabat could do to somehow cease this stupid _femme fatale_ act, then we'd finally gain the upper hand and be able to catch her!"

"Well, that's super easy." Badgerclops turned back to the counter and finally finished his sandwich, taking a healthy bite of it. _"Youjustgottaflirtback."_ He spoke with a full mouth.

Adorabat blinked, "Flirt...back?"

Sun's jaw dropped. _"W-what?"_

Badgerclops swallowed his food, "Yeah! I bet she isn't expecting you two to reciprocate her suggestive comments. I mean, c'mon, you two are the most innocents of innocents. If you guys said something _really_ steamy back, she'd probably be too surprised to say anything in return!" Badgerclops smirked. "Trust me, it always works on TV."

"TV... yeah...yeah! You're right, it does work on TV!" Adorabat grinned excitedly, "That sounds fun, let's do that!"

Sun swallowed, and nervously fiddled with his Dice; Badgerclops hadn't even noticed him take it out, "I-I don't know-"

_"That's an awful idea!"_ Marmalade slammed her paws on the table and stood up abruptly; causing her chair to screech as it was pushed back. Sun and Adorabat flinched at the display, but Badgerclops stayed still, only raising an eyebrow. "Flirting _back?_ Are you kidding me! Did you forget she's a _criminal?!"_

Badgerclops shrugged. "Criminal or not, this is your only choice. I mean, unless you want me to go get Mao Mao or Tanya-"

"No!" Sun yelped, "We don't need them for something small like this!"

"Yeah! C'mon, Marmalade, this is a good idea." Adorabat nodded encouragingly.

Marmalade growled. "I disagree! C'mon, have you ever _talked_ to Gummy before?! There's no way in hell he could actually manage to fluster _Em_ of all people! He'd screw it up!"

"I don't know about that," Badgerclops muttered. "I mean, from what I've seen, he always seems to fluster you when he's training with that whip of his-"

"Don't finish that sentence, old man!" Marmalade hissed, a blush across her cheeks. "Grr....FINE! Do what you want! But when this dumpster fire of shit hits the fan, I had nothing to do with it!"

"Yay! Welcome back to the team, Marmie." Adorabat grinned. "Now, let's go skin a fox!"

Sun nodded, "Yes, let's go- _wait._ What was that last part?"

"Never mind!" Adorabat jumped off her chair, and flapped her wings so she gently glided to the floor, "We don't have much time till patrol tomorrow morning, and we still have to go practice our pickup lines!"

"Oh boy..." Marmalade mumbled. "This is gonna be a long night..."

* * *

_And it keeps on getting longer..._ Sun thought to himself, stifling a yawn as he trod down the dark street of the village. It was around 2 am now, a few hours before sunrise, and the canuki hadn't gotten a wink of sleep yet. The majority of his night had been spent in the Dojo, practicing his pickup lines and kabedons alongside Adorabat; with Marmalade helping them as well. Badgerclops hadn't stayed around for long, only for the first hour of practice so that he could make fun of the teens; before leaving to the garage once again.

By the time they were finished, it was around 1 am. Suddenly realizing that their patrol, and chance to meet Em, was at 6; the trio quickly parted ways and went to bed...

Or at least, Adorabat did.

Being the nice guy that Sun was, he offered to walk Marmalade back to the castle (where she lived with Honey in their shared lab). It was almost customary for the canuki to do so after so many years, so Marmalade didn't complain much about the company.

When they finally arrived at the castle's gates after twenty minutes of walking, they parted ways, and Sun began the trek back home alone.

_I'm gonna be exhausted during the morning patrol._ He thought to himself as he walked down the deserted, main cobblestone street; rubbing at his eyes tiredly. _I kinda hope we_ don't _see Em tomorrow, at least then I could take a twenty-minute nap before Dice training in the afternoon..._

Sun raised his gaze from his feet and looked around at the buildings surrounding his path. They were decorated with colorful banners and flowers; and there was a handle of closed carts standing on the side of the street, their products hidden under thick blankets, awaiting tomorrow. Sun could recognize a few of the tiny shops, such as the candy and toy stores' respective carts.

_Huh, I forget that there's a festival tomorrow. That sounds fun, even though it probably means more work for me..._ His sigh left a cloud in the chilly night sky, and the canuki pulled his scarf up over his muzzle in a feeble attempt to stay warm. _Maybe if I do well in training, Dad will let me off early so Adorabat, Marmalade, and I can check out the festival. That sounds like something I can look forward to._

A breeze ran through the street, causing the banners to sway gently in the wind, and Sun to shiver. _What I'm looking forward to most right now though is my bed. I bet it's gonna so nice... just ten more minutes and I'll be home, cuddled up, and-_

Sun froze.

Carried by the wind, was the sound of an awfully familiar giggle.

“What are you doing out so late, _Sunny?"_

Before Sun could even think, his training kicked in and he turned to face where the voice came from. His dice, which he had already thrown and caught, transformed into a whip; which he held coiled up in his hands, reading to strike.

His gaze immediately fell to an alleyway a couple of feet away, where a pair of glowing brown eyes met his own. His hackles rose.

He recognized that voice and those eyes.

It was difficult to make _her_ fully out while she was standing in the dark, but not impossible. _She's wearing a coat, and I think she has something in her hand. Maybe a weapon? I should steer clear of her left side if that's true and strike before she has a chance to-_

"If all you're gonna do is stare at me like I'm dessert, we might as well go somewhere warm," Em smirked, finally stepping out onto the cobblestone street and into the moonlight; Sun immediately stepped back as well.

It was true, instead of her usual tightly wound corset, Em Fatal was wearing an indigo trench coat and in her hand was a bright pink lollipop; the candy shined in the pale moonlight, showing off what was most definitely Em's saliva. Sun swallowed.

Her surprisingly soft brown eyes took in his figure, "Why, you aren’t dressed for the weather at all."

"I wasn't planning on staying outside for very long," Sun replied, his tone surprisingly strong and stutter-free. _Maybe that flirting practice actually helped!_

"Well, I do apologize for ruining your plans then, but when I saw you walking so cutely, I just couldn't help but stop by and say hello to my _favorite_ Sheriff~" She punctuated the sentence with a long lick of her lollipop, her eyes glued to Sun's.

The canuki felt his confidence crash and burn. _Oh, ancestors help me._

With a smirk, as if she knew she had already won, the fox sauntered even closer towards the teen; one hand on her hip while the other held her sucker to her mouth. Sun tried to tell his legs to move, or to flick his whip, but he was frozen; his attention fixated on the way she was sucking on the candy, and dear _god why am I so memorized by her mouth?!?_

Sun barely registered the feeling of her paw on his shoulder, "You feel a bit chilly, I doubt that scarf is doing much."

The teen finally tore his gaze from her lips, meeting her gaze, "Um, I didn’t catch that, w-what did you say?" He asked sheepishly.

Em chuckled knowingly and reached upwards, wrapping her arms around the canuki's neck; making sure her lollipop didn't get stuck in the fur on the back of his head. Sun jumped at the suddenly increased contact, and his face turned a deep red.

"Stop looking like a kicked puppy, I'm just trying to warm you up~" She grinned, her nose brushing gently against his own. "You don't mind this, do you?"

"I...I..." Sun knew what Em was doing, he had been a victim of her little schemes before. _She's trying to distract me with this whole... act. And while I'm flustered and spluttering like an idiot, she takes off with half the village jewels! I'm just confused about what she's trying to distract me from right now..._

Em pressed her body even tighter against his own; the canuki swallowed the spit that was collecting in his throat.

_Grrr, focus Sun! This is just a tactic to mess with you! Luckily, now we have our own secret weapon. Think... I need to remember those stupid pickup lines I learned!_

"Hellloooo? Earth to Sunny?" Em cooed, "Are you still with me, or did your brain combust?"

"Um, s-sorry. I was just t-thinking of a way to say that..." Sun racked his mind for the flirty one-liner, but the feeling of her chest against his was making thinking a bit difficult. "...I-I'm going to... c-choke... _you???"_

...

...

...

Sun wanted to crawl under one of those carts and stay there forever. _Oh, ancestors, I can't believe I just said that._

Em seemed surprised as well, her brown eyes were wider than usual, and her familiar smirk had downgraded into a confused frown.

"Was that an...invitation?" She asked, not even attempting to make her tone suggestive; it was clear she was just as confused about the situation as he was.

"Um... Y-yeah? I think?" Sun managed to mutter, his brows furrowed.

Em blinked up at him, and Sun could feel her grasp around his neck loosen. _Wait... did it actually work?!_

"...Was that your awkward attempt to _flirt_ with me?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow, and _oh no the smirk was back._

"...was it really that bad?" He huffed, all signs of tension leaving his shoulders as shame fell over the canuki. _Forget about being a hero, apparently, I can't even_ flirt _right._

Em giggled, finally pulling away from him, "Yeah, but it was kinda cute." She smiled, plopping her sucker back in her mouth.

Sun's head shot up to meet her gaze, "W-wait, so it worked? Did I fluster you?"

"Hm, no, unfortunately not," Em smirked, taking a lick of her candy. "But I enjoyed it nonetheless."

Sun cringed, closing his eyes, "Ugh, dammit. Then Badgerclops was wrong after all and Marmalade was right... _again_ . Thinking back, I'm honestly surprised we even agreed to such a silly plan. Still, I guess trying something is better than just sitting around doing nothing. Although, I guess that means Dora, Marmie, and I are gonna have to meet up earlier than usual for patrol and discuss our new game plan before we head out. I know it's necessary but it still _sucks-!!!"_

The canuki's word vomit was interrupted by something round, warm, and wet being thrust into his mouth. He let out a muffled cry as the taste of strawberries flooded his senses... _Did...did she just stick her_ **_lollipop_ ** _in my mouth?!?!_

Em looked up at him, her eyes shining with something dangerous; her paws resting on his chest, "Don't talk with your mouth full, Sheriff~"

Even if he wanted to, Sun couldn't have. The sweet taste of the sucker, but most importantly the taste of _Em Fatal_ , was clouding his mind; making any coherent thought impossible to sound out.

"Hmm, _good boy~"_ She grinned widely, "I love playing with you, Sunny, and I wish I could stay... but I have a _long_ day ahead of me tomorrow so I suppose it's time for me to take my leave."

Sun didn't reply, he was completely frozen.

With a knowing snicker, the fox finally stepped away; Sun stumbled forward a bit, he hadn't even noticed he was leaning on her.

"However..." She paused, "That lolly _was_ difficult to steal-"

She reached forward, gingerly gripping the paper stick that was hanging from his muzzle. "-I hope you don't mind if I ask for it back."

And with that, she pulled the sweet out from the canuki's parted lips; a string of saliva (although Sun wasn't sure if it was his, or Em's from the treat) connected the teen to the lollipop. Sun felt like he was hyperventilating. _Why do I feel all weird and tingly..._

"I-I-" He began, but couldn't finish; his brain still short-circuiting.

"I hope you have sweet dreams, Sun-" She grinned knowingly, taking a step back as she slowly raised the treat to her mouth.

Sun felt his stomach drop.

_W-wait, she isn’t going to-_

Em dramatically licked the lollipop from bottom to top, not missing a spot; her brown eyes glued to his panicked cyan ones.

"Although, I know they won't be as sweet as mine~"

Sun only let out a soft whine in response, his mind buzzing with the thoughts of their indirect kiss; unable to pay attention to the sound of Em’s retreat.

_...I can't tell anyone about this. Ever._


	6. “Grief is natural they say. So is death. I don’t want either" (Mao Mao)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is the prompt :))
> 
> PLEASE READ THE FICS IN THIS SERIES BEFORE READING THIS! THANKS!

Mao Mao closed his eyes, his face masked with a serene yet cold expression; his brows furrowed as if he were searching for answers.

"Grief is natural they say..."

The sound of rain pattering against the roof filled the silence between his words. Distantly, there was a crack of thunder.

"So is death..."

He exhaled softly from his nose, and blinked open his eyes; his gaze fierce.

_ "I don't want either." _

...

"Um... that's a lot of pressure." Sun laughed sheepishly, one paw scratching at the back of his head while the other held his game controller.

"Yeah, dude, take a chill pill. It's just a fighting game." Badgerclops raised an eyebrow, leaning back against the couch.

Mao Mao let out a gruff laugh, and stood up onto the coffee table; his figure towering over everyone else. "In the name of the Mao Mao family, defeat this bat and bring honor to us all!"

"...uh...sure?" Sun chuckled awkwardly. "I mean, I'll try my best!"

"Your best means nothing against my spam attacks!" Adorabat squealed.

"That behavior is unlawful!"

"Bite me!"

_ "Why does game night always turn into this..." _ Badgerclops groaned.


	7. "Hey, stop biting your lip..." (Sun and Em)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is the prompt :))
> 
> PLEASE READ THE FICS IN THIS SERIES BEFORE READING THIS! THANKS!
> 
> This gets pretty suggestive just so yall know.
> 
> Also, this takes place in an alternate reality where Sun and Em actually end up dating lol. This is noway canon (at this point in time)

As much as she enjoyed the night before, _and she really did enjoy it,_ Em was certain this was her favorite part so far.

The blinds were closed, yet rays of sun managed to slip pass; landing on the blanket and basking the bed in a warmth that made Em sigh contentedly. One of these rays shined across Sun's muzzle, making his merlot fur glow like fire in the warm light; although she found that, ironically, _her_ Sun was much brighter than the dappled light across the sheets. Em smirked to herself, and wrapped her arms tighter around him; letting out a happy sigh.

Under the covers, their legs were knotted together; their tails gently entwined with one another's in a way that made her stomach do flips. Sun's arms were loosely wrapped around her back; so his paws laid gently above her tailbone; while her arms were looped around his neck.

The canuki's muzzle was buried into Em's fluffy bangs, and she could feel his breath against her forehead as he slept; every now and again he'd let out a gentle snore. She nuzzled her nose into his neck as a grin crept up on her face. _He's so cute~_

Even though her throat mildly ached, Em didn't want to ruin the moment and get up for some water. Not only had she never seen him this relaxed before (he was relaxed last night but in a _totally_ different way), but she also didn't want _this_ to end. The thought of getting up, dressed, and heading back to her father's club to report for orders filled her with dread; not only was the club nearly three towns over, but her father would definitely be interested in why she spent so much time in the valley.

Needless to say, she definitely wasn't ready for _that_ conversation.

So, instead of dealing with her problems head-on, Em wrapped her arms tighter around her _boyfriend,_ and continued to marvel over him as if he were a masterpiece in a museum; a sleepy smile on her lips.

Instinctively, her eyes fell to his neck, which was thankfully bare; last night, she made _sure_ he didn't wear that musty old scarf of his to bed.

Cutting across his fluffy wine colored fur, right against his jugular, was a jagged scar; stretching from one side of his neck to the other. The pinkness of it stood out against his dark fur, making it even more distinct; the unevenness of the skin didn't help in that regard either. It was quite deep.

_It looks as if someone tried to slit his throat with a chainsaw..._ Em morbidly thought to herself, biting her lip. To be honest, she rarely got to see the injury, with it being constantly hidden by his scarf; but she knew it existed long before they began dating thanks to an incident involving a locked panic room and a broken air conditioner. Back then when she had asked about it, trapped together in the tiny room, he awkwardly batted the question away; his flushed face excusable by the unbearable heat. But even now, after all this time, she still hadn't heard the story behind the ugly scar.

_I've seen an injury like this before with one of my dad's grunts... he didn't last long._ Em sighed, gently pulling one of her paws free so she could gently trace the mark; Sun didn't budge, his chin still resting gently against the top of her head. _I suppose I'll just have to wait until he's ready to talk. It's not like I can force information out of him, not like the good old days._

Em lazily smirked to herself as memories washed over, and without much thought, she leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss against his scar; her lips barely brushing over the uneven skin.

Immediately, the warm body enveloping her shivered.

_"_ _Hmf...what are you doing...?_ Sun mumbled sleepily into the top of her head; she could feel the vibrations from his vocal cords on her lips.

Em pulled away, a healthy blush across her cheeks at being caught red-handed. "W-wishing you good morning, of course."

Now that she could see his face, it was obvious he was still half asleep; based on his slightly dazed expression. The canuki blinked open his eyes once again, "...It's morning?"

Em nodded.

Sun let out a dramatic groan and dropped his head below the covers, nuzzling his face into Em's fluffy chest; his grip around her waist tightening. _"Idontwannagetup...."_ He mumbled into her fur.

"Jeez, and I thought you were a morning person." She couldn't help but laugh at the sleepy display, lazily brushing her paws over his ears.

"Most of the time I am," He turned his head, so his cheek was against her chest, "But not today..."

She chuckled, "Well, who says we _can't_ stay in bed all day?"

"My dad, Uncle Clops, Dora, Marmie, most likely the king will need me at some point, and the Skypirates are _definitely_ gonna show up." Sun listed, Em's suggestive comment going over his head much to her amusement. "Plus, if they saw you here, they would probably kill you and _then_ me."

Em sighed longingly, "I suppose you're right..."

Sun looked up at her, a knowing glint in his eyes, "...but?"

_He knows me too well._ She smirked, and without warning, flipped them over so she laid on top of him; her haunches on either side of his hips.

_"But~"_ She chuckled, her nose barely scraping against his, _"Can't we pretend for just a little while longer?"_

And just like that, the sleepiness was gone from his eyes; his cheeks now lighting up bright pink "Uh....I-I..."

Em grinned at the response and placed her hands on his shoulders; looking up at him with one of her famous smirks. "Y'know, I thought your little flustered act would've disappeared after what happened _last night."_

At the mention of what took place hours prior, Sun's face went from a pink to a deep red; sweat beading at his brow, words failing him.

"I suppose it's a work in progress though." She sighed dramatically, cupping his cheek gently in her paw. "But I have to admit _,_ yesterday... you were _monstrous~"_

Sun's pupils slit, and his chest was rising and falling at a quickening rate. The canuki swallowed under her heavy gaze, and opened his mouth to-

He froze.

His eyebrows furrowed.

His eyes widened.

...

"Wait," Sun said, his voice clear but full of underlying panic, "Monster."

"That's... what I said?" Em frowned, and sat up, straddling his lap; confused at the change.

Sun sat up as well, his paws coming to rest on her hips to keep her steady; although it was clear she was the last thing on his mind. "....Em, what time is it?"

"Oh, probably around nine-"

Sun physically jolted, " _Nine?!_ I thought you said it was the morning!"

"Uh, nine am _is_ the morning-"

Gently picking her up by her hips and sliding the fox onto the bed, he jumped off the mattress, running to where his phone laid on a nearby desk, charging. "I thought you meant like 4, or 5 in the morning! That's usually when I wake up- _**shit**_ it's 9:30?!"

"Pff, what foul language! The first time I ever heard you swear was last night, and now here you go again. I must be a bad influence on you." Em chuckled to herself. "But that's beside the point. Why are you freaking out? And why did you say monster?"

"I was supposed to do a perimeter check for monsters this morning at 6!" Sun called back, zooming into the bathroom and out of sight; there was the faint sound of running water.

Em blinked, "...So?"

The sound of a flushing toilet filled the room, and Sun returned not long after; haphazardly flinging his belt on. " _So_ , nobody checked the boundary this morning. Meaning there could be monsters marching into town this very minute!"

Em rolled her eyes, shifting so she laid on her side, her chin in the crook of her elbow, "Please, I've been in the Pureheart Valley numerous times these last few years and I've only seen a monster attack, like, twice!"

"Well, that's because we do the boundary checks!" Sun replied, distracted, seemingly searching the room for something. _"Gah, where's my scarf..."_

"You mean this old thing?" Em smirked, raising her arm, a familiar orange scarf hanging from her claw.

Sun's cyan eyes lit up and he walked over, grabbing it from the fox, "Thanks, where did you find it?"

"Oddly enough, it was folded up alongside the rest of our clothes on your bedside table." Em raised an eyebrow.

Sun's cheeks reddened as he knotted his scarf around his neck with practiced hands. "Ah, right, I forgot I did that..."

"...you _folded_ our clothes last night? When did you even get the time?"

He scratched at the back of his head sheepishly, "Uh, well, you fell asleep pretty quickly after...um... _t-that._ So I decided to clean up a little, since everything was kinda thrown everywhere... I didn't want your stuff to be wrinkled in the morning, so..."

Em blinked up at him, her cheeks flushed as well, "...Sun, you are the sweetest person I have ever met."

The canuki began to turn away, his face even hotter, "You don't have to make fun of me-"

His attempt to get to the door was stopped by a familiar white paw grabbing the end of his scarf, gently pulling him back so they faced each other once again; Em had leaned upwards so their muzzles were inches apart.

"I wasn't making fun of you, Sunny. I really do mean it." She smiled surprisingly softly at him, an expression that nearly knocked the canuki breathless. "...Do you _have_ to go?"

Sun blinked at the sound of her gentle plea; it sounded far too innocent for what he knew she was suggesting. "The town could be-"

"The rest of the Sheriffs can take care of it, can't they? You deserve so much more than a couple of hours of fun and sleeping in till _9._ Besides, nothing bad has even happened yet, right?"

The canuki swallowed, glancing down where her paws gripped his scarf, "I-I mean-"

"I'll make it worth your while~" Em bit her lip seductively.

A whine escaped his throat at the sight, _"Please_ don't bite your lip like that..."

"Fine, I'll just have to bite something else..." She teased, fluttering her eyelashes. _"...But only if you stay~"_

...

...

...

_"You really are a bad influence on me."_ Sun sighed, his posture slouching; his paws falling to his belt as he began to take it off.

Em smirked "I win~"

His free hand cupped her waist, and it was then he realized she was completely bare; the blanket that had been covering her had fallen away when she grabbed his scarf. Sun's fingers dug into her soft fur, free to explore. "I'm pretty sure I'm the one who's winning here..."

Em hummed in agreement, leaning forward even more so their noses touched, _"Kiss me already."_

Sun obliged, tilting his muzzle so their lips gently-

_**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP** _

The lovers snapped to attention as a red flashing overtook the room, a familiar alarm ringing in their ears.

"Gah, the monster alarm!" Sun hissed, backing away from the bed. "I knew it!"

**_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP_ **

Em groaned in despair, "Dammit."

The canuki ran to the door, adjusting himself so he looked presentable, "Sorry, Emmy, I really did want to stay-"

"It's fine," She huffed, falling back to lay in the bed; sprawling naked across the sheets like a model. "Just _please_ don't die."

He opened the front door, "Heh, I'll try not-"

"Sun, perfect timing!"

Sun jolted at the sight of his father, Mao Mao, standing in his doorway; his mouth snapping shut.

"D-dad-"

"Go get your butt on the Aerocycle, there's a dragon trying to take a bite out of the Ruby Pureheart!"

Sun glanced to Em, who was looking awfully surprised laying on his bed. _Thank god he can't see my bed from the doorway..._

"O-of course, dad!" He spluttered, beginning to step outside, his door halfway shut.

"Hold on."

Sun felt his blood run cold.

"You're missing your belt." Mao Mao raised an eyebrow. "You have to be more careful, your dice is in there!"

Sun mentally facepalmed. _Right, I took it off._ "Ah, sorry. I'll just go... put it on."

"I'll be here." The cat replied with a huff.

The teen forced a smile, nodded, and slipped back into the room; heading to his bed.

Em smirked, silently holding the belt up for him. He reached for it, only to find Em suddenly darting forward to catch his lips.

The kiss was short but sweet; and even though Sun hated butterflies, he couldn't deny his stomach was full of them.

As she pulled away, the fox dropped the belt in his still open hand,

_"8 pm."_

"Huh?" He muttered, his brain still sputtering from the kiss.

_"Meet me at the lake at 8 pm. I'll set up a blanket under the stars for us~"_ She whispered, a coy smile spread from cheek to cheek.

Sun couldn't mask the grin that made its way across his face. _"I-I'll be there."_ He muttered back.

"Sun!" Mao Mao growled from outside.

"Be right there, dad!" Sun yelled back, sliding on his belt, before making his way back to the door; giving Em a small wave in the process.

Em gave him one back as he shut the door.

_"Why are you smiling like that?"_ She could distantly hear the older Sheriff ask Sun.

_"Oh, I-I guess I just woke up on the right side of bed!"_ The canuki laughed sheepishly, his voice growing quieter; Em could imagine him scratching nervously at the back of his head.

The mental image was enough to send Em falling back onto the bed; burying her face into her paws as she let out a joyful giggle.

She really couldn't wait to wake up beside him once again.


	8. To the Next Generation (HowlingScrawler Collab!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy to finally show off the collab Howlingscrawler and I have been working on! They wrote this one-shot, while I drew a piece that went alongside it. 
> 
> PLEASE GO READ THEIR STUFF!! They have terrific Tanyamao fics that I adore!  
> https://archiveofourown.org/users/HowlingScrawler
> 
> You can see my part of the collab here:  
> https://floopaslopp.tumblr.com/post/624959799708336128/im-so-happy-to-finally-show-off-the-collab
> 
> This one-shot takes plays in an AU where Howling's Tanyamao fankids (Soeren and Noriko) are Sun's younger siblings! The idea is just so cute haha. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

The sun had gone down over the horizon and evening had fallen over Pure Heart Valley. The denizens had turned in for the night and were preparing for the next day to come. But as they were snuggled away in their beds, dreaming of sugar plums and fairies; others were still wide awake and still active, even at this hour.

Those individuals being: Tanya Mao and alongside her, were her children- Soeren, Noriko, and Sun Mao.

Normally around this time of night, the three kids would be in bed and well off to the land of dreams, seeing as how their father drilled into their heads the: 'Early to bed, early to rise!' mentality, valuing the importance of a good sleep schedule.

But tonight was a special night for the three of them-

Tonight was the night they were being bequeath their very own Legendary Weapons! Naturally, the kids were expressing their emotions in their own way.

**N** oriko was easily bouncing up and down as she couldn't stop thinking about getting her own weapon! She expected to wait a little longer but seeing as how her father was given his as a child. Now that she was going to get hers... she could barely contain her excitement.

**S** un on the other hand was a bit more precautious about the whole idea of getting a weapon so soon. He expected to wait a little longer, so he was apprehensive about the whole thing.

**S** oeren was deep in thought the entire time. While his brother and sister were going on about getting their weapons, the young boy was thinking up various ways of what would be the most effective use of his.

All in all, they were excited in their own way.

“Can you believe it? We're getting our very own Legendary Weapons! This is so cool! I wonder what mine is gonna be like. I hope I get something cool like Geraldine!” Noriko cheered, bouncing up and down in a single spot.

“I-I guess so, but don't you think it'd be safer to wait until we're just a little bit older?” Sun replied, looking at his sister bounce in place.

“What? No way! We should get them now! That way, we can train early and get a better head start.”

“Nori has a point, Sun,” Soeren added in, speaking up after he was finished thinking. “I can get why you'd be nervous, but I'm also ready to get my weapon. The sooner we begin the better our chances of being trained.”

“That is true, but these are actual weapons we're dealing with. Not makeshift practice toys...”

“With Mom and Dad helping us, we'll be okay! Just you wait and see,”

“I guess so...”

“I know so! Speaking of which, Hey, Mama,” Noriko turned to her mother that was sitting nearby, casually watching the three of them, a warm smile on her face. Tanya noticed her daughter approaching and leaned forward once close enough.

“What can I do for you, my little blossom?” Tanya asked her, patiently waiting for a reply.

“When's Papa going to get here? He's always the first to be here before us.”

Tanya chuckled, resting a paw on her head and gently petting her daughter. “Patience, dear. He'll be here soon. You know your father, he can't resist a grand entrance~”

“But we've been waiting all day...!”

“Patience is a virtue, as he says,” Tanya chuckled, remembering his words.

  
  


“ _ Did someone say Patience? _ ” Boomed a voice, gaining everyone's attention. They all turned to see that Mao Mao was standing behind them at the entrance of the Dojo, along with Badgerclops holding a chest in his arm. “One of the many rules of being a Hero, my precious children, always have patience.”

  
  


“Papa!”

“Dad!”

“Father!”

All three of the kids called out as they ran over to him and on instinct, he crouched down with open arms and brought them into a hug, holding them tightly as the trio did the same in return. “I'm so proud of you all, receiving your weapons at such a young age.”

The three kittens could only smile widely at their father as they let him go. Standing at full height, he clapped his paws together and they knew what that meant. Going back to their original spot, they waited on him as he walked over to Tanya, while Badgerclops placed the chest in front of them.

“Thanks for keeping them busy today, Cherry-blossom. Gave me enough time to get things ready.” Mao Mao whispered to her. Tanya only chuckled and kissed him chastely on the lips, a smirk appearing on her face.

“It was no trouble, Mittens. You know our kids, always eager to prove themselves to the valley.”

“That's good, it means they're prepared to take up the mantle of being a Sheriff!"

“I would usually question such a statement, but seeing Adorabat as a Deputy at the tender age of five, I'm inclined to believe that. Speaking of which, where is she? Normally, she's always tagging along with us.”

“School night. Eugene wanted her home to rest, so she couldn't make it, sadly. I'll just have to tell her tomorrow. Now,” He glanced over to see that they were all still in the same spot, while their daughter was burning a hole where she stood. “I believe I kept them waiting long enough. Let's get this ceremony underway.”

“I'm curious to see what they'll get.”

“They'll get what suits their abilities best. You and my Father made sure of that.” Mao Mao turned his attention to Badgerclops who just got done setting a monitor near the chest. “Let's begin.”

  
  
  
  
  


Now that everything was in its proper setting, Mao Mao was standing before his children with Tanya by his side, a paw resting on his arm as Badgerclops was on the other; stuffing his face with a random subject of food. It irritated Mao Mao of course, but he'd let it slide for now. Tonight was a special event and his children were the sole focus. Reaching into his cape and pulling out his sheathed Geraldine, he held it in front of him and cleared his throat, preparing to speak.

“Sun, Noriko, Soeren,” Mao Mao started, calling their names. The three kitten's attention perked as they listened. “On behalf of the Mao Clan, today, you three shall be receiving your very own Legendary Weapons.”

“SO COOL! I was waiting all day for this!” Noriko cheered, her little paws clenching into fists, earning a hearty guffaw from Mao Mao.

“Indeed it is, my little flower warrior, but we've only just started,” the little kitten only nodded and went back to being silent. “Now, as I was saying. Today, my children, as of this moment, you shall be given your very own Legendary Weapons as your forefathers and foremothers have done before you and their fore-bearers before them, continuing the time-honored tradition.”

“Like how you got yours, father?” Soeren asked, inspecting the katana in front of Mao Mao.

“Correct, my boy. That's exactly how I received my treasured weapon, and with time, hard work, practice, and dedication, you all will become masters of your own rite!” In a flashy display of handling and mastery with a bit of flair thrown in, Mao Mao yanked the katana from the scabbard and tossed it into the air. It did a series of flips before the experienced feline, without needing to look, caught it seamlessly in his hand and twirled it around before re-sheathing it once again, ending the small spectacle and satisfied grin on his face. “Like so,”

All three of the kittens looked at their father with wide eyes at what he just did, but Tanya could only roll her eyes at his show-offy presentation, a sly smirk appearing on her face. “Now! Before we get to that, we have a very special guest with us tonight. He wouldn't miss this for the world. Badgerclops, the monitor if you please,”

On cue, he pressed a button and the screen blinked to life, pulling the kittens' attention to the device, only for them to gasp at a familiar face on screen. “Hello? Is this thing on? Hello? Ava, I think it's broken-”

“GRANDPA!” the kittens called out, instantly recognizing who the person was. Surprised to hear his name called, Shin Mao was able to see his grandchildren on the monitor, waving at him.

“Oh, so it does work! Haha! Hello, my little warriors! Look at you all, all prepared to receive your weapons. Oh, I am so proud of you all.”

“Uh-huh, we've been waiting all day for this. Papa was about to give them to us.” Noriko pointed out while turning her eyes back to her father.

“Seems like I'm just in time then. Mao Mao, my boy. Don't keep the tots waiting, do the Mao Family proud, and present them with their weapons!” Shin Mao pointed out, eager to see the tradition continue with the new generation. Mao Mao could only nod before continuing.

“My children, by the code of the Mao Clan, to receive your very own weapon is a great and noble honor. Why, I was no older than you were when your grandfather bequeathed mine.” Mao Mao started, the kittens listening closely to his words while their eyes remained locked on the older feline of the family. “But, thanks to your demonstrations and aptitude in your abilities, you will be given a weapon best suited for your capabilities. Will you three accept your weapons and swear to uphold the honor of the Mao Family name?”

  
  


“I totally will!”

“I-I suppose...”

“Without question, father.”

  
  


“Then by the right as Patriarch of this household, I will present you all with your weapons, starting with my oldest. Sun,” Mao Mao called out to him, causing the kitten to jump slightly.

“Y-yes, sir?”

“Step forward and receive your weapon,”

Sun did exactly that and waited upon his father, his paws extended, waiting for what he would be given. Once Mao Mao had found what he needed in the chest, he turned to face his child, delicately placing a lavished Golden Dice in his paws. Naturally, Sun was confused as to how a dice was a legendary weapon but decided not to raise his voice. Not only that, but his grandfather was there watching them all, so he only offered a nervous smile and nodded. Turning to Shin Mao, he gave a simple bow and stepped back, standing beside his siblings. “Thank you, dad. Thank you, grandpa.”

“You've been given a very special weapon, Sun. Passed down through our family until it reached you. In fact, you're the second Mao to wield this weapon in the last five generations.” Mao Mao explained, causing Sun's eyes to bug out of his head a little bit from the new information.

“I-I'm the second after all this time? Then... who was the first?” his voice trembling but the mention of being the second own piqued his interest.

“His name was Seven Mao; The Virtuous High-roller,” Shin Mao pointed. They all turned, seeing that he had pulled up a portrait of the dapper looking black cat, dressed in a sharp blue and white zoot suit, sporting the same Legendary Weapon that Sun had. “Sun, my boy, this is your great-great-great-great grandfather. Not only was he a warrior of the Mao Clan, but he also ran his very own casino!”

“Dude, your ancestor was a gangster?” Badgerclops snickered, a smarmy smirk on his face, one that Mao Mao ignored as he rolled his eyes.

“He was more than just a casino owner, Sun.” Mao Mao added. “He was also known for his kindness and heroic deeds. Helping an old lady across the street, dealing with thugs, maintaining a fun and safe atmosphere in his casino. You name it, he was well-loved by his community and peers.”

“Wow, dad... He sounds like a really good guy,” Sun asked, looked at it in his paws, a bit of a sparkle in his eyes. “...and I'm going to inherit his weapon?”

“That you are, my son. I know you can do it.” Mao Mao flashed Sun a confident smile, but the kitten could only offer an awkward one in return, something that didn't go unnoticed by Tanya.

“T-Thank you, sir. I won't let you down... I promise.”

“I have faith in you, my boy. Now, Soeren,” Mao Mao called out to the middle child, his ears standing up and his focus locked directly onto his father. “Step forward."

Soeren did as he was told and walked up to Mao Mao, paws behind his back as he waited for his weapon. Turning around and presenting a green leafy scarf, the elder cat passes it on to the boy and he graciously accepts the weapon.

“Soeren, your mother and I have noticed that, despite your age, your gift for magic is astounding. A bit rough around the edges, but with her guidance, you'll be able to master it... possibly even surpass her!"

“That may be true, Mittens,” Tanya spoke up, a half-smirk on her face. “but he'll come to understand that magic isn't something so easy to use.” She noticed a look of concern on his face and that smirk instantly turned into a warm smile. “Don't worry, sweetie. I'll be with you every step of the way.”

“Thank you, mother, I look forward to your teaching.” Soeren then turned to his father and bowed graciously for his gift. “And thank you, father. You as well, grandfather.” He stood back upright and went back to his spot, taking the chance to examine his weapon.

  
  


“And last, but certainly not least, Noriko.” Mao Mao started as the youngest kitten was called.

“Yes! Finally, it's my turn!” she cheered, as she bounded over to her father, bouncing on the tips of her feet, paws clenched and against her chest as she waited eagerly for her own weapon. Mao Mao could only laugh heartily as he looked down at his eager little warrior, seeing himself at her age.

“Indeed it is, my little blossom warrior. This weapon is a gift from your grandfather,” Mao Mao turned away and reached into the chest, as she looked on in wonder, excited to know what it was. Turning back around with a katana in hand, Noriko's eyes flew open and sparkled like the night sky upon seeing hers. “This was custom made for you, my little flower petal. Courtesy of your grandpa, after he saw your little dance with the blossoms. This katana meant to help with your magic and under my tutelage, you'll be a master of the blade, just like me.”

“Really?! Papa, you're gonna train me?” Noriko asked excitedly as she was handed her weapon, clutching it to her chest.

“Indeed I am. Don't think I didn't notice you practicing with that wooden sword I gave you. I see great potential in you, my little flower petal, we just need to bring it out.” Mao Mao replied as he crouched down to her height.

Out of reflex and joy, Noriko went to hug her father which he gladly reciprocated. “Thank you, Papa, I can't wait to get started, this is going to be so cool!”

“Indeed it is my little flower petal. Now, back to standing beside your brothers, I need to wrap up this ceremony.”

“Okay!” Letting go of her father, the youngest kitten excitedly bounced back over to her brothers, briefly showing her weapon to them. Just as he was about to speak again, Tanya tapped Mao Mao on his shoulder, gaining his attention. He turned to face her, only to be met with a gentle kiss to the lips. It surprised him, but he could only smile during the whole thing. She pulled back and smirked her trademark grin as she turned to face their children, watching them talk among themselves.

“This was a rather pleasing little ceremony, you pulled together. I've never seen them so excited about something.” Tanya pointed out, earning a chuckle from her husband.

“Well, it's a Mao Family Tradition. I knew after seeing what they could do, they'd be ready for weapons.”

“Despite them being so young?”

“I was only five when I received Geraldine and I turned out fine. If I can, so can they. Besides, the earlier they train, the better they'll be prepared.”

“That's all well and good, Mittens. Just make sure they have a balanced childhood. All work and no play makes the kittens dull warriors.” Tanya teased while playing with his whiskers.

“Relax, we're experts! They're in good hands, Cherry-blossom,” Mao Mao chuckled, a paw slipping around her waist. “Besides, by the time we're done with them, they'll be top-notch warriors. The valley will be in good hands."

“I'm sure they will be. Just... be sure to not be too hard on our Sunshine. The poor boy is under enough pressure after you gave him a weapon that belonged to one of your ancestors.”

“He'll be able to handle it. I have the utmost faith in him. I can't think of anyone other than him to wield it. Besides, we'll be busy having our paws full with me training Noriko and you training Soeren. Plus, we'll be bouncing Sun back and forth between us during his sessions. I'm afraid that isn't going to leave us a lot of... personal time, you know,”

Tanya giggled as she planted another kiss, this time on his cheek. “Oh, don't you worry about that, Mittens. We'll find a workaround for that, I'm sure. You are  _ far _ too determined to quit~”

Mao Mao felt his cheeks heat up a bit and a nervous chuckle followed. “W-well, you know me, I do like a challenge.”

“Good, I'm looking forward to it~”

Another hearty laugh left him as the two of them watched their children chat away with each other. Pride and joy swelled in his chest as he looked upon his kittens, proud to see them carrying on the mantle of protectors of the Valley. He could rest easy knowing that it would be incapable hands, long after he and Tanya were gone. For tonight and tomorrow, this would give them a chance to get used to their weapons and each other, but come the day after, that was when the training for the next generation would truly begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed this, you'll love Howlingscrawler's works! (Makes sense, they DID write this after all)
> 
> Please go take a look at their stuff!
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/users/HowlingScrawler
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


	9. "Don't look" (Panther, Sun, and Em)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is the prompt :))  
> PLEASE READ THE FICS IN THIS SERIES BEFORE READING THIS! THANKS!
> 
> Tbh I'm not super happy with how this turned out, specifically the very beginning and end. But oh well

Em was starting to think her plan was flawed from the beginning. 

She had intended to lead Sun away into the forest circling the Pureheart valley; and while he was looking for her in the brush, she would loop around him and go pick up her stash of stolen jewels back in the village. By the time he realized she wasn't in the trees anymore, it'd be too late, as the arctic fox would be running into the sunset with thousands of dollars in stolen goods. 

It probably would've worked if Sun hadn't been so diligent. Realizing her scheme, he had made sure to instead chase her _away_ from the forest; instead corralling her towards the jagged cliffs near his house

So with her back to a hundred-foot drop, the trees behind her barely visible with how high up they were, and being cornered in by the rocky hills on either side of them, Em began to have doubts about her plan. _I suppose it's a little late for that._

With sweat beading at her forehead, she forced her gaze to meet Sun's, who was slowly walking over to where she stood at the edge of the cliff; taking his time. It was obvious he had the advantage here. With the steep hills on either side of them, the cliff behind her, and with the canuki blocking the only way out, it was clear she had nowhere to go.

"Let's just end this now." He yelled over the wind, "I don't want to drag this out any longer than I have to."

She couldn't help but silently agree with the canuki, although her expression stayed calm, "I've been in worse situations before, Sunny. I'll get out of this."

He frowned, "Your luck won't help you here, Em. You don't want to have a _literal_ fall from grace, do you?" 

Sun pointed his Dice, which was in the form of a dagger, behind her at the hundred-foot drop; yet she refused to look, her eyes still glued to his own.

"Hm, I've never really been a fan of heights." She admitted with a shaky smirk, she really did hate them. "But that won't stop me from getting away."

Sun groaned, looking awfully too tired for a sixteen-year-old, "How many times do I have to say this, only a _miracle_ could save you right now! And the chance of that happening... is…"

Sun's voice trailed off, as his nose wiggled; clearly taken back by an unexpected scent. Before she could question what he was doing, the canuki flicked his wrist and his dagger changed from its Dice form to a shield; as he turned to face the rocky hill that towered over them to their left. 

With the canuki suddenly looking a lot more worried as he gazed up the hillside, with his shield out, Em felt her smirk coming back into place; as she sniffed at the air. _I can't smell any monsters… so what is he so scared of? Maybe… this is the impossible miracle he was speaking of! Ha! Perfect..._

Em was brought out of her thoughts at the sound of Sun's whine, as he got into a battle stance, _"Oh you gotta be kidding me."_

Suddenly, without much warning, a figure dropped from the top of the hill; sliding down the cliff face before pushing off the rocky wall, landing squarely onto Sun's shield. The canuki let out a gasp at the sudden increased weight, stumbling back at the figure once again pushed off his shield, landing a few meters away.

Em's eyebrows furrowed at the sight of the mysterious masked feline, standing across from Sun. _Who the hell is that?_

"Panther!" Sun hissed out, holding his shield squarely in front of him; clearly on the defense. He seemed frazzled. "What do you think you're doing?!"

The helmet-wearing feline, _Panther_ apparently, silently pulled a cylinder from his long jacket; pressing a button on the top, causing the device to _pop_ into a long staff. Sparks seem to come from the top of the device, where two metal prongs poked out; Sun flinched at the sight of it as if he were familiar with the weapon's abilities.

Panther cocked his head to the side, his expressionless mask reflecting nothing but Sun's worried expression, "You know why I'm here, Sun."

Sun hesitated for a moment, biting his lip, before letting out a soft sigh, "Yeah, you're here for your weekly _beat up Sun_ session, but you couldn't have come at a worse time." 

Em froze as the mysterious feline glanced in her direction, although he quickly swiveled his attention back to the canuki, "Unfortunately, my duty cannot wait."

"Sounds fine by me." Em chuckled, hoping she sounded confident. To be honest, Panther's mechanical voice unnerved her, alongside that electric staff, but she couldn't let them see that, "Why don't you two do your little battle thing, and I'll just head out-"

"Hold on!" Sun yelled out, taking a step towards the arctic fox, "You're a wanted-"

Unexpectedly, Panther slid behind the canuki, and thrust his staff forward; the two metal prongs making contact with the teen's back as electricity ran through his body.

_"Gah!"_ Sun screamed as his posture went stiff; his merlot fur puffing out. 

Em Fatal watched as Panther finally pulled his staff away, letting Sun collapse to the rocky ground; withering in pain as the electric current continued to make his limbs shake. She cringed at the sight. 

"Keep your focus on me, Sun." Panther spoke calmly, taking a few steps back to surprisingly allow Sun to recover, "You will never defeat me like this."

_"I-I-I don't even know who you are."_ Sun managed to hiss out, slowly lifting his face from the ground to glare at the mysterious feline; he was covered in dirt. _"I-I don't even know your real n-name!"_

"And it will stay that way until revealing such a fact is beneficial to me." Panther replied, nonchalantly spinning his staff in his left hand, while his right sat comfortably in his pocket. "Now get up, we're not finished yet."

Sun muttered something that sounded awfully like _"that's unfortunate,"_ before slowly pulling himself off the ground; his fur still puffed out thanks to the static. Picking up his shield from where he had been laying, he glanced up to where Em still stood.

She had been inspecting the hills surrounding her, clearly looking for a way to escape, since the dueling pair blocked the only way out. 

"Em, stay where you are." Sun mumbled out, "This will be finished shortly." 

The fox sighed, raising an eyebrow at his appearance, "If you say so, Sunny. But it's rude to keep a girl waiting."

He couldn't help but snort at that, as he finally straightened his posture; allowing his shield to poof back into a dice, before flipping it once again. 

Transforming onto his arms were a pair of golden gauntlets, which Sun inspected with a sigh. 

"Close combat isn't ideal in this situation, but this will have to do." He muttered to himself, before turning back to face Panther; who was watching him quizzically. "Let's do this then."

Em was surprised to hear a soft chuckle come from the taller feline, as he spun his staff leisurely, "Your move then, _Sheriff."_

With one final sigh, Sun gritted his teeth together and sprung forward; his metal-encased fist raised.

Panther easily sidestepped the punch, before reaching out and snatching up the loose end of Sun's scarf. With his momentum being used against him, the canuki let out a gasp as the cloth around his neck became tight; as he came to a sudden stop. 

"Cat got your tongue?" Panther asked, his voice monotone and devoid of humor. 

Letting out a choked groan, Sun managed to pull himself out of the feline's grasp, and fall back a few steps; as he rubbed sorely at his throat, glaring at his opponent. 

"That was a dirty move." He huffed out, his voice strained. 

Panther shrugged, "Why should it matter? Your family has done _much_ dirtier things."

With that, the plum furred cat struck; jabbing his electric staff at the canuki. Sun let out a grunt as he managed to step back and avoid the hit, although he couldn't avoid the second attack. 

Once again, electricity ran through the teen, and he let out another ghastly scream.

This time, however, Panther didn't hold the prongs to him for long, and he quickly fell back; freeing Sun from his electric torture once again. 

Thanks to the shortened attack, the canuki managed to stay on his feet this time; although he was swaying gently, and his fur was steaming.

"I'm disappointed." Panther sighed, even through the robotic filter he sounded mildly upset, "You seemed to have made no improvement since our last meeting."

"I-I've been busy." Sun admitted, raising his fists shakily in a fighting stance, "B-besides, I wouldn't exactly call these _meetings_ , that implies c-compliance. It's not like I _asked_ you to attempt to kill me like you seem to do every single week."

"As I stated before, it's my duty to eliminate false heroes," Panther shrugged, taking in Sun's beat-up appearance, "and it seems like my job is almost done."

Letting out an angered growl, Sun bolted forward on his shaky legs, his gauntlets raised. Quicker than a blink of an eye, the masked feline raised his staff and thrust forward; although it was clear he had missed his mark. 

Grabbing onto the end of the staff by the prongs, was Sun; his body once again running with electricity. Yet, he somehow managed to stay standing, as he gripped the metal with his gauntlets; his face pained. 

Panther cocked his head in confusion as he watched the canuki grappling with the end of his weapon, "You really are something, Sun."

The canuki glanced upwards, his eyes slit in agony and confusion. 

"Yet," Panther looked down at the base of his staff and clicked one of the buttons there. "You will _never_ be enough."

Suddenly, the electric output dramatically increased, causing Sun to break his silence and howl in agony; just as the taller feline threw back his arm, and punched the canuki straight in the jaw. Causing the teen to fly back away from the staff, and onto the ground. 

He didn't get up.

Panther watched Sun's unconscious body for a few moments, seemingly taking in how the boy's scarf was smoking; or how his gauntlets had poofed back into a dice. Yet after a few seconds, the feline sighed and his staff popped back into a small cylinder; which he slid into his jacket.

_What the…_ Em had watched the whole exchange, her eyes wide with fear. _He… beat Sun? But how?! I never even get_ close _to winning a fight against that stubborn boy!_

"I-Is he…" She couldn't help but mutter to herself, her eyes falling to his still body; although she immediately knew this was a mistake when Panther turned to face her.

She felt her blood go cold. 

_"G-g-go near her and you'll regret it!"_

Em jumped at the quiet, yet fierce voice of Sun; who had grabbed onto Panther's leg, seemingly still unable to stand up, barely even able to lift his bloodied face off the floor. Her heart swelled at the act. _Heh, classic Sun. I guess I should've known better than to doubt him._

The feline looked down at the canuki silently, before glancing back at her; easily kicking Sun off in the process, "You are in no position to make threats right now, _Sheriff."_

And just like that, she felt her metaphorical hope balloon pop, as Panther took a step towards her. 

Feeling panic beginning to settle deep in her stomach, the arctic fox stepped back…

Into thin air.

Before she could even register the shocked, blooded expression on Sun's face, or even the sudden rigidness in Panther's shoulders; the arctic fox was falling backward.

_"EM!"_ She faintly heard a familiar canuki scream.

It took a few moments for the fox to register what was happening, as she spun blindly, free falling. 

It was only until she had fallen roughly twenty feet did she realize she had eighty more to go; as the forest below her got closer and closer. 

Em had made the mistake of stepping off the cliff, and now, at the age of seventeen, she was falling to her death.

That was when she began to scream, fear tearing out of her throat. _NO NO NO! This can't be it! What about everything I wanted to do?! Everything I needed to say?! This can't be it! I'm not ready to die!_

_I'm scared._

_Sunny… Adorabat..._

_I'm so so scar-_

_"OOF!"_

Something collided into the girl's side, painful enough that for a second she had thought she had already hit the ground. It was only when the thing wrapped itself around her did she realize what was happening.

_"HOLD ON!"_ The robotic voice yelled over the rushing wind, urgent; she did what she was told, grabbing on tightly and sealing her eyes shut. 

Suddenly, and almost painfully, they came to an abrupt stop; the sound of crunching metal and rock echoing around them, as they hung from the cliffside. 

There was silence for a few moments, all except for the sound of heavy breathing; although Em couldn't tell if it was her own or the person's she had wrapped herself around.

It was the smell of machine oil and sugar that finally convinced the girl to open her eyes. 

She had wrapped her arms around Panther's neck, even unconsciously holding her legs around his waist tightly as well. The feline had his left hand on her back and was pressing her against him to make sure she stayed hanging alongside him. Meanwhile, his right arm was what had stopped their decent; he had forcefully smashed his hand into the rock and had made a ledge to grab onto so they could hang freely.

From his hand, leaked a mysterious black liquid. 

_Wait, is that… machine oil?_ She blinked. _Oh, his right arm is mechanical. I guess that explains the smell and why he was able to stop us without dislocating his shoulder._

_But if it's leaking oil, it must be damaged…_

Em's brows furrowed. 

_Wait… why did this guy even save me in the first place?!_

"Are you okay?" 

Em couldn't help but flinch at his voice, it sounded much less robotic this close; she could even feel the reverberation of his question through his chest where they were pressed against one another. 

She glanced up at him through her eyelashes, still panting as adrenaline continued to flow through her veins. "I-I'm...fine."

Panther looked down at her, although it was difficult to know what he was thinking with the helmet and all, "Alright. Can you continue to hold on?"

"Y-yes." She said softly, not in the mood for any of her usual games.

He nodded and looked back up the cliffside, "I am going to climb back up. Continue to hold me like you are, or you will fall to your death. Do you understand?"

_"Yes."_ She repeated, fear still pounding in her chest.

Panther fell silent, as he continued to stare up; clearly planning out his rock climbing route. 

Nervously, Em shook her bangs out of her face, before glancing below them; her eyes widening with panic at the sight of the trees below. _If he let's go, we'll both die. The only thing holding us here is his broken mechanical arm for goodness sake! Oh God, I hate heights!_

Suddenly, his free hand pushed her face softly into his chest, obscuring her vision; as he continued to gaze upwards. "Don't look. It will only frighten you." 

  
Em let out a surprised gasp at the action, but didn't resist it; even burying her muzzle into his jacket after a few moments. _Heh… I can feel his heartbeat through his coat. It's racing. Maybe he hates heights too..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then Panther saves Em and they go their separate ways while leaving Sun bleeding out and unconscious (Jk… kinda)
> 
> I probably could’ve (and should’ve) given this a better ending but… I didn’t feel like it lmao.


	10. "Do you think werewolves like ice cream?" (Sun and Adorabat)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is the prompt :))
> 
> PLEASE READ THE FICS IN THIS SERIES BEFORE READING THIS! THANKS!

"Do you think werewolves like ice cream?"

Sun glanced up from his ice cream cone and looked at his sister; who was sitting beside him on the short rock wall they had found.

"What's a werewolf?" 

Adorabat used her free wing to scratch at the back of her head in thought, "I saw a tv show that said werewolves are wolves who got bitten by these mysterious hairless apes, and on every full moon, they turn into one."

"Woah…" Sun's eyes sparkled at the story, "That's amazing."

"Yeah, isn't that awesome?" The bat grinned, before taking a lick of her chocolate cone, "But now I'm wondering… do you think on full moons, when they're those weird ape things, would they still like ice cream?"

Sun pursed his lips in thought, "Hmmm, well, most  _ normal _ apes like ice cream, right?"

Adorabat nodded.

"So what's so different about a hairless one?"

"I guess." She shrugged, before taking a huge bite of her ice cream; finishing it.

Sun cringed at the sight, "Ow, when I do that it hurts my teeth." 

Adorabat laughed and jumped off the wall, "Luckily for you, no ice cream can hurt me! Haha!" 

The canuki couldn't help but giggle too, which brought an even wider smile to the bar's face. 

"C'mon, I'll help you down." Adorabat placed her wings under the six-year old's armpits, and moved him from the wall to the ground; it was a bit too high up for him to jump. 

"Thank you." He gave her a big grin, which reminded the eleven-year-old of Mao Mao; the only key difference being the strawberry ice cream covering the child's face. 

"Ew, you got it all in your fur!" She wrinkled her nose and knelt beside him to inspect it closer.

Sun's cheeks lit up red in embarrassment, "Opps."

With a snort, the bat gathered up a part of her cape and used it to wipe the treat off his mouth; before standing up once again.

"We better get home before the sun sets." She reached out her wing.

Sun yawned and grabbed onto it, rubbing at his eyes tiredly, "I hope no werewolves get us on the way back. We don't have any more ice cream for them!"

Adorabat chuckled, and began to lead the way, "Don't worry, your big sister is on the job!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this gave me diabetes I swear


	11. "Now, how could I forget you" (Em and Panther)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is the prompt :))
> 
> PLEASE READ THE FICS IN THIS SERIES BEFORE READING THIS! THANKS!
> 
> This one is kinda a sequel to the prompt "Don't look" with Panther, Em, and Sun. I highly recommend you read that before checking this one out!

Em liked showing up early on the nights she had to perform; that way she could mingle with the club-goers, and get a little drink at the bar before she had to go on stage. One might say it was dangerous to be tipsy while doing her rigorous act on such a tall platform, but Em preferred the word  _ exciting _ . 

The twenty-one year old fox pushed through the front door of the club, sending a wink to the bouncer as she walked past, "How's it going, Robby?"

"Same old, same old. You know the routine, Emmy!" The gorilla gave a big grin, "But you  _ do _ know you can enter through the back door, right? Would be much easier, y' know."

"Well of course." She smirked sweetly, "But then I wouldn't get to see your beautiful smile~"

Robby blushed and bashfully looked away, although his expression immediately soured as a few teens, who were attempting to sneak inside, entered his vision.

Em couldn't help but snort at the sight.  _ Guess things really don't change around here. _

Continuing on into the main room, she danced her way through the crowd. It wasn't as rowdy as it usually was, since it was still rather early in the night, but there was still a distinct group gathered on the dance floor. 

She trusted her memory more than her vision as she navigated herself towards the bar; standing on her tippy toes to see where she was going.  _ Damn tall people. This is the only time when I get excited to wear my big ass performance heels. _

Finally, with the wooden countertop in sight, Em ducked under a flamingo's leg and pushed her way to the front of the group.  _ Y'know, if I was in my fancy getup and it wasn't so dark, these people would probably recognize me as tonight's talent. Hell, I bet the guys would be lining up to kiss my feet and buy me a drink! _

_ Heh, if I had a foot fetish that might actually be fun... _ The fox adjusted her corset as she looked up and down the bar; searching for a free seat.  _ But I can think about that later, first I gotta find a seat… _

From where she stood, all of the stools were full, so with a sigh, she continued around the bar; it was circular shaped, with a big mirrored pillar standing in the middle, reflecting back all the fancy party lights onto the bartenders.  _ Maybe on the other side, there's a stool or two. _

"Hey, Foxy lady!"

Em's ears pointed at the nickname, and her eyes immediately fell to the friendly-looking lioness a few feet away sitting on a stool, attending to a margarita. 

"Ah, Lylla! What a lovely face to see." The arctic fox grinned and closed the distance, giving Lylla a quick side hug; making sure to avoid her fancy drink, "You didn't happen to come for my performance tonight, did you?"

The lioness shook her head and smiled, "No, but it's a lovely surprise! I can't wait to see what you have stuffed in that corset of yours!"

"Oh, nothing more than the usual goods." Em winked jokingly, dramatically adjusting her chest fur. "I have a feeling you'll love the song I'm singing, I know I do~"

"As long as it isn't country, I'll be peachy!" Lylla roared with laughter, putting down her drink in the process so she didn't spill any on her short dress. "Speaking of things you love though, while I was doing my usual cruise around, I saw  _ someone of interest _ on the other side of the bar."

"Someone of interest you say?" Em blinked, before giving in to a wide smirk, "Are you trying to set me up on a date again?"

"Well, he  _ did _ look like your type with that fancy jacket of his," The lioness joked, "But I was thinking more about business. Seemed like exactly what you were looking for."

Em's gaze hardened, and she glanced at the pillar; if she had x-ray vision, she'd probably be able to see this mysterious man, "Huh, you don't say… Thanks Ly, I'll look into it."

"No problem at all, Foxy. I'll see you on stage!"

Em reached forward and gave her friend another hug, "I'll wave if I see ya!"

With one final goodbye, she pulled away from Lylla and continued her way around the bar; her mind now set on seeing this man herself.  _ First thing first, find this guy, size him up, and if things look good I'll have a quick chat with him. And  _ then _ I get my drink. God, what a night _ .

It didn't take for her to circle around the bar and get to where Lylla saw the man; this side of the club was much quieter, and other than a couple of people around the counter, there wasn't much of a crowd.  _ Perfect, now it should be pretty easy to find this guy. Lylla  _ did _ say he had some sort of fancy jacket… _

With that in mind, the fox got to work scanning the stools.  _ Vest. Suit. Hoodie. Vest. Vest. Jacket and helmet. Shirt. Hoodie- _

Em blinked. 

_ Wait...jacket and helmet? _

Letting her gaze fall back to the mysterious figure clad in a golden helmet and a dark, long rubber jacket; the woman felt her eyes widen.  _ Oh. So that's who Lylla was talking about…. lovely. _

She knew that man. 

How could she forget?

It was almost four years ago, in the Pureheart valley. _Sun...that cliff… God, I was such a novice._ Em bit her lip. _And_ ** _him!_** _Panther, or whatever Sun called him,_ _he kicked Sun's ass! I mean, he sure has the skill for the job I'm thinking and I suppose he did save me… but he's obviously dangerous as well. Is this a risk I'm willing to take?_

She watched as the bartender slid a scotch glass toward the feline, the mysterious brown liquid sloshed inside as he stopped it nonchalantly with a gloved paw. 

_...but if this guy really wanted Sun dead, he'd be dead, right? So he can't be that bad… Plus, he kinda sounded like the tightly wound type, and those kinda guys are always fun to tease.  _

Suddenly, images of him gently pressing her face into his chest while she was wrapped around him came to mind. She snorted.  _ I mean, he only did that to stop me from freaking out from my fear of heights so we wouldn't fall from the cliff and both die...but still, I think I have to go with my gut feeling here. He's worth a conversation. Let's see if this "Panther" guy wants a job.  _

_ And hey, if he says no, maybe he'll be open for a date. I always  _ was _ curious about what he hid under that helmet of his… _

With her mind made up, Em took a deep breath, fixed her fur, and strutted over to the bar; her eyes set for the empty stool beside the masked feline. 

_ Let's see how this goes.  _

"Is this seat taken?" She asked smoothly, in a way that meant she was gonna take it no matter his answer.

Panther didn't respond, not even turning to look at the fox; although Em could tell he was using the mirrors behind the bar to assess her.  _ Hm, smart boy.  _

"I'll take that as a no then." Em hopped onto the seat, using one of her hands to flag down one of the bartenders, and the other to point at the feline's drink, "I'll have what he's having." 

The bartender took the order and left, leaving the two once again alone, or as alone as you can be in a crowded club. 

Panther seemingly glanced to where the bartender went, before his gaze fell back to his glass; which he hadn't even bothered to take a sip of yet. His shoulders were tense, and his tail was lashing. 

_ Guess he doesn't like company.  _ Em smirked.

"...So, do you remember me or are introductions in order?" She asked softly, glancing over at him with a raised eyebrow; her own fluffy tail flicking.

The feline's gaze fell to the bar top, and he gently swished the liquid in his glass around; cupping it in both his hands. 

Just as the silence was becoming uncomfortable, and she opened her mouth to fill it, he sighed.

"...Now, how could I forget  _ you _ ." Panther said, his voice coming out slightly mechanic thanks to the helmet. "I had to pick white hairs off my jacket for weeks after our little meeting."

He finally looked at her, his mask reflecting the pot lights from above the bar, "Not to mention the price of fixing my arm." Panther lifted his right hand off his glass and weakly made it into a fist. "It still feels a little off, even after all this time."

Em suppressed a frown at the memory of how he had broken his cybernetic arm while saving her, instead laughing softly and leaned forward; twirling a piece of her bangs in between her claws, "Hm, well, I suppose I'll have to find a way to pay you back then~"

Panther fell silent once again, and he stiffly looked back at his drink; tail lashing, "Unless you're offering money, I'm not interested." 

Em laughed, just in time for the bartender to return and place her drink in front of her; matching perfectly with Panther's. With a happy sigh, she picked it up and leaned forward to  _ clink _ it gently against his own.

"Well, as lame as it sounds, I hope a  _ thank you _ toast works in the meantime." She smiled, finally raising the drink to her mouth and letting it slip past her lips.  _ I wonder what he ordered anyway. _

Em got her answer as an indescribable sweetness fell over her tongue, one that she wasn't prepared for nor did she enjoy. 

Letting out a grunt, as if she were going to spit it out; Em raised a hand over her mouth to force the drink back. Finally, after a few seconds of battling herself, she forced herself to swallow the sickly sweet liquid. 

_ "Ugh…" _ She stuck out her tongue, forgetting about her goal to appear feminine to Panther,  _ "What the hell… _ that was wretched!"

A noise came from the taller feline as he spectated her ordeal. It was difficult to make out with the robotic filter of his helmet, but it sounded awfully like a chuckle.  _ Heh, so I guess he isn't  _ that _ stoic. _

Panther turned back to his own glass, before lifting it up to look at the liquid; the amber soda seemingly glowing bronze in the light, "It's root beer."

Em hesitated, furrowing her eyebrows.  _ He's… drinking pop? Um, that's unexpected. _

"Uh...why?" She began, "Don't you want something with a  _ punch _ to it? Isn't that why you're at a bar?"

Panther shook his head, "I'm here to scope out potential work. If I were to consume alcohol, during any potential altercation, my battle prowess would most likely be limited."

"Well, I suppose I can understand that, but why get root beer? Can't you just drink water or maybe a ginger beer? That's alcohol-free."

Panther stilled, "...I don't enjoy bitter things." His voice was noticeably quiet, and if Em didn't know better, she'd say he sounded embarrassed, "Besides… I like root beer."

Em raised an eyebrow at that, "But it's so sweet!" 

"That's why I like it."

The fox scoffed _ ,  _ "So you have a sweet tooth." She glanced at his glass.  _ That's kinda unexpected. I mean, the only people I know who unironically like that drink is… kids.  _

"Say, how old are you anyway?" She asked curiously.  _ I mean, he must be old enough to get into the club. But I suppose he may have a fake ID…  _

It was now Panther's turn to scoff, clearly finished with the more personal conversation they were having, "I'm old enough to realize a girl like you doesn't talk to a guy like me unless she needs something." 

Suddenly, the feline raised his free hand to his helmet, clicking a button on the side; it made a  _ whooshing _ noise as if some air was being let out. Lowering his gloved paw to the bottom of his headgear, directly under his chin, he unexpectedly lifted it a few inches off. 

Em's eyes widened as his muzzle came into view, although the rest of his face continued to be covered. 

Using the paw that wasn't holding his helmet up, Panther raised his drink to his mouth and let the sweet liquid pour in; until the glass was empty. He swallowed the root beer without much of a second thought as he licked his lips; placing his glass back down on the bar top and sliding it toward the bartender. 

_ "Another one, please." _ He asked, making Em almost jump out of her seat in disbelief.  _ His voice without the filter… it's so soft. _

Before she could ask to hear him speak again, Panther finally lowered his helmet back into place; as it made a confirming  _ clicking _ noise as it locked into place.

"So, what is it?"

Em jolted at the sound of his usual robotic sigh, her mind still full of thoughts of his soft voice, and the image of a tongue darting out to lick the soda from his lips, "P-Pardon?"

"As I said, it's not every day a girl like you comes up to me. You must want something. What is it, Ms. Fatal?"

"Ah, yes, well…" Em cleared her throat, gently shaking her head as to push those thoughts to the side, "I wished to ask you about a potential partnership." 

"...Partnership?" He questioned; she could imagine his eyebrows beginning to furrow. 

"Outside of performing, I'm quite well known for my knowledge of gems, jewels, and all those kinds of goods. And that includes ones in fables or myths as well, kinda like that good old Ruby Pureheart we both know so much about." Em smiled, "Recently, I got a tip about a gem that was believed to be stolen centuries ago, turning up in the hands of some well-known pirates."

"And let me guess, you want me to help you steal it back so you can sell it for a fortune." He snorted.

Em shrugged, "Actually, I was planning on giving it back to the clan it was stolen from. Apparently back in the day, it was quite dear to them. Besides, I don't really care about the money, I mostly just do this as a hobby."

Panther hesitated, "...I suppose I misjudged you."

Em laughed, giving him a big grin, "Don't worry, happens all the time. People tend to think I'm the greedy type I suppose."

Panther glanced away, tapping a finger on the bar top, _ "I wonder why…" _

Decidedly ignoring the sarcastic remark, she continued, "I do want to get the gem back to its rightful owners, and as you guessed, I want you to be the  _ muscles _ in my plan.." She brushed her bangs out of her eyes, spinning her bar stool so she faced Panther, "I'd be happy to talk about the details in my dressing room after my performance. That is, if you're interested." 

Panther fell silent for a few moments, continuing to drum his fingers on the counter, "...I suppose I would be open to hearing more about this plan." 

Em grinned widely, feeling a wave of relief wash over her, "Great! I guess that makes us partners."

The feline physically bristled at that, his posture tightening, "I haven't agreed to anything yet, I will make my mind up after we see each other in your dressing room." 

"Oh, tomato tomahto." She giggled, jumping off her stool. "I'll see you after my performance then, yes?" 

Panther nodded, just as the bartender returned with another root beer in hand; placing it on the counter in front of the feline. 

"Alright then." Em smiled, "Hey, if I see you on stage, I'll blow a kiss~"

He glanced at her, his tail flicking, "Go for it, I don't care either way."

With a laugh, she waved and turned away, "I'll see you then."

He didn't reply, just turning back to his drink. 

_ That went well. He really is quite the character… _ The fox glanced back at him.  _ I have a good feeling about this one… _

_ "Actually…" _ Em began, hesitating, before walking back to his side; hands behind her back. "I'm back~"

"What is it?" He asked, turning back to face her. He didn't seem surprised to see her back so soon. "Did you forget something?"

"Oh, well, I just realized I can do a better  _ thank you _ for saving me. That toast was rather drab." 

Panther cocked his head to the side and she had to stop herself from squealing.  _ How cute!  _

"So you've decided to give me money after all?"

"No… I have something else in mind." 

Before the feline could question her, Em leaned forward onto her tippy toes, forcefully pulling his head down so it was eye level with hers; placing a gentle kiss on the muzzle of his helmet, just where his nose would be. 

Panther's shoulders went rigid, and he raised his hands as if to push her away, yet he never did; only staying still in her gentle grasp, his tail falling motionless. 

Eventually, Em pulled away; reaching forward to  _ boop _ him on his metal muzzle, "Save me again and next time I'll give you one  _ without _ the helmet. How does that sound?"

The feline was silent, his posture still unnaturally motionless, and his hands still raised.

"I...I…" Panther managed to mutter out, uncharacteristically shaken. 

Em couldn't hold it back this time as she cooed, "Don't hurt yourself, dear~"

That seemed to awaken the feline from his shock, and he finally lowered his arms; his free hand almost desperately grabbing onto his glass of root beer. Once again, he went through the trouble of unlocking and pulling up his helmet over his muzzle; showing off that small part of his face once again.

Only this time, spread across his cheeks and muzzle, was a bright scarlet blush.

Before Em could digest what she was looking at, Panther chugged his drink and slammed both his helmet back into place and his glass onto the table. 

"Is… is that all, Ms. Fatal?" He questioned, his voice breathy; tail twitchy.

"...Yeah, that's it." She grinned, turning away to hide her own blush, "See you later, for real this time!" 

"R-right." He muttered. 

As the fox turned away, her sights set on backstage, she couldn't help but giggle to herself.  _ Under that helmet, he really is just an awkward blushy boy.  _

The image of cyan eyes, an orange scarf, and a shaky grin fell over her. 

_ Man, I really do have a type, don't I? _

  
  
  



	12. "She has really pretty paws" (Sun and Em)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is the prompt :))
> 
> PLEASE READ THE FICS IN THIS SERIES BEFORE READING THIS! THANKS!
> 
> Takes place in the same au as "Stop biting your lip" just... earlier on in the timeline lol
> 
> Also, this takes place in an alternate reality where Sun and Em actually end up dating lol. This is noway canon (at this point in time)

Sun could tell something was wrong with Em as soon as she arrived. 

As first dates went, he thought he had done pretty well; setting up a plush picnic blanket on the serene side of the lake, giving them plenty of privacy. The canuki even bought all the foods he knew Em took a liking to, as well as his phone, which had all the tunes he found she couldn't help but hum. 

Yet today, when he proudly displayed his work, she had smirked and commented on how hopelessly romantic he was; however… the usual light in her eyes seemed dimmed, and she had sat on the blanket without any other words being exchanged. It was...eerily unlike her.

_ I didn't do anything wrong, did I? I've never seen her like this before.  _ Sun frowned to himself as he began emptying the basket of the food he packed; laying the full containers on the blanket in between them. 

"Um, I went to the market in town and picked up some sweet berries!" Sun smiled, hoping his happy tone hid his insecurities. "I know how much you like them, so I figured…"

His voice trailed off as he realized Em clearly wasn't listening to him; her soft brown eyes glued to the surface of the lake, lost in thought. 

Sweat beaded at Sun's brow.  _ Oh ancestors, I totally messed something up. _

"Uh...Em?" The canuki gently placed the bowl of sweet berries, which he had lifted to show off to her, to the side.

The fox jumped at the sound of her name and turned to face her boyfriend; although her shocked expression quickly morphed into a more charismatic smirk as if she were putting on a mask. 

"Yes, Sunny?"

"Did I…" He nervously looked down at his paws, which were bunched up on his lap, "...hurt your feelings?"

Em blinked, "...Huh?"

"I mean, I don't have much dating experience." His nose scrunched up, "Well, more like  _ no _ dating experience. But I did try my best for our first date! I was pretty nervous when you asked me to plan it, so I even bought some of those teen magazines they have at the grocery store! Of course, I probably screwed up anyway..."

"Sunny-"

"But I'm sorry if I messed our date up somehow, or if I offended you in some way." He scratched at the back of his head, "That really wasn't my intention, honestly!" 

"Sun, you didn't hurt my feelings." She laughed, as if that were the silliest idea in the world, "I'm perfectly fine!"

Sun frowned, surprised by her sudden joyful attitude, "Are... you sure?"

"Absolutely positive." She smirked, "Now, you were saying something, right?"

"I-I guess. But I'm not sure if-" 

Em waved him off, her gaze falling onto the food he had spread in between them, "Aha! You got me sweet berries!"

"Yes, but-"

Em grinned, and leaned over the plates of snacks; reaching for the bowl of fruit, "Well, I don't mind if I-"

_ "Gah!" _

Interrupting herself, Em let out a pained yelp and pulled her arm back away from the bowl; cradling the appendage to her chest, clearly in pain.

Before Sun could think, he was by her side, "Where does it hurt?"

"S-Sun-"

_ "Where does it hurt?" _

Em flinched at his harsh tone, and looked away, "M-My wrist."

Sun reached forward, his paws meeting her injured paw; gently bringing it away from her chest and closer to him, so he could inspect it, "What happened?" 

"It's fine, Sunny. It doesn't matter." She furrowed her brows.

"It matters to me." His gaze lifted from her wrist to her eyes; his expression soft. " _ You _ matter to me."

Em's lip trembled, and she let out a long sigh. "Fine, if you really wanna know… your dad had it out for me this afternoon and I quite possibly sprained my wrist.  _ But just a little bit." _

Sun's eyes widened, and he looked back down to her paw, "He  _ did _ say he stopped one of your ' _ evil _ ' plots today..."

"A jewel had fallen off your king's crown on his walk through town." She laughed softly, "I couldn't help myself."

The canuki nodded in understanding, and used his claws to gently part the fur on her wrist; Em flinched in pain at the movement. It was difficult to concentrate with Em’s staring into the top of his head, but canuki forced himself to ignore it as he took in her paw.  _ She has… really nice paws. Wait, no, focus! _

Eventually, after a few moments of twisting her arm around so he could examine the marks under her fur, he let out a soft snort; a rare smirk stretching from cheek to cheek, "Heh, let me guess, as you tried to pick it up, he grabbed your wrist and twisted it until you let go."

Em blinked, "Wait, how did-"

"I'd recognize these bruises anywhere." Sun chuckled sheepishly, glancing up at her, "I've gotten them myself more than once. It's one of his favorite tricks to pull during training."

"So it's not sprained?"

The teen shook his head, and lowered her hand away from his face; meeting her gaze once again, "No, just bruised."

"Well, if you're so knowledgeable about my injury, how would you go by treating it then,  _ doctor?" _

Sun couldn't help but smile.  _ She's definitely feeling better.  _ "Hm, usually I'd just live with the pain. It was never really that bad anyway."

"That's terrible advice." Em rolled her eyes. 

Sun chuckled, "Fine fine, if it was feeling  _ really _ bad, I'd probably put an ice pack on it. But only after-"

He trailed to a stop, his cheeks lighting up. 

Em raised an eyebrow, "...After  _ what?" _

The canuki gently laid her wrist down on her lap, using his now freed hand to scratch nervously at the back of his head; looking away sheepishly, "… it's kinda embarrassing."

"Oh, now you  _ have _ to tell me!"

Sun laughed, shakily smiling, "Well, when I'd get bruises or cuts during training, my mom used to always kiss them better. I mean, it did little to actually help with my injuries, but it always made me feel a lot better…"

He smiled softly at the memories, shaking his head so he got back on track, "She isn't around the valley that often anymore, so I haven't gotten one of her healing kisses in years… I do miss them though, even if I'm way too old for that type of stuff."

"Heh...I don't think you can outgrow something like that." 

Sun jumped at the sound of Em's voice; it was surprisingly soft, so unlike her. The fox was looking up at him, her eyes glassy while a shaky smile decorating her face. 

"My mother… she never did anything like that. Neither did my father for that matter." She hesitantly raised her injured wrist, so it was right below his muzzle.

"Do you think… you could give me one of those healing kisses?"

Em shook her head softly as if to expel those dark thoughts creeping through the back of her head, "I just… think I'm in dire need of something like that right now." 

She closed her eyes and swallowed harshly; clearly forcing tears back.  _ "If you don't mind..." _

Sun seemed taken back by her request, his cheeks tinted red; however, there seemed to be something else glowing in his eyes, something that made him frown determinedly.

"...God, what am I doing." Em huffed to herself, eyes fluttering shut.  _ "I can't believe I of all people would be begging for a _ **_-!!!"_ **

Her eyes snapped open at the feeling of lips against her own; her boyfriend's scrunched up nose and his closed eyes filling her vision.

Sun was kissing her, his paws on either side of her face; smashing his lips against her own in an inexperienced manner.

…

Wait,  _ what?! _

Before she could assess the sensation of his muzzle meeting hers, or the feeling of him physically quivering against her, either with nerves or excitement; Sun sprung away, effectively ending their smooch; his eyes still shut tightly.

Silence fell over the pair, as Sun kept alarmingly still, while Em watched him with wide eyes; clearly in shock about what just happened. 

After a few moments of getting his thoughts in order, Sun blinked open his eyes and cleared his throat; his hands in fists on his lap, "Um… d-did that suffice?"

Em just blinked in reply, her cheeks flushed; her lips still parted slightly from the kiss. 

Sun swallowed sheepishly, eyes darting down; his face just as red, "I-I was pretty nervous about doing errr…  _ that _ , but I couldn't say no when you asked so…"

His voice trailed off as the canuki glanced up to meet her gaze once again, only for his sight to fall upon her wrist, which was still raised in between them. Sun's eyebrows furrowed as he looked down at her bruised appendage as if he were wondering why it was still raised. 

Although it became clear he had figured it out when his eyes widened in shock, and his fluffy fur bristled wildly.

Immediately, his expression went through the seven stages of grief; before finally ending on acceptance, as he cringed inwardly and pursed his lips; tail lashing out behind him.

It took a few moments for him to conjure words, as he spluttered like a fish out of water; his thoughts were filled with curses and panicked questions.

_ "...W-w-when you said you wanted a kiss…" _ He gritted his teeth, clenching his eyes shut as mortification lit his face up a bright red,  _ "Y-you meant on your injured wrist, right? And not on your um...l-lips? _

"T-that was my intention, yes." Em chuckled, her flush still present on her cheeks, "But I didn't mind your interpretation."

Sun groaned loudly, and fell back onto the blanket; his hands coming up to cover his scarlet red face.  _ "Ohhhhhh noooo…." _

Em couldn't stifle her laughter anymore, as she leaned forward to place a comforting hand on his leg, "Don't beat yourself up too much about it. I really didn't mind. Besides, I think it did the trick, I'm feeling much better!"

The canuki dragged his paws down his face, his eyes refusing to meet hers, "B-but I just stole my  _ first kiss! _ And I haven't stolen anything in my entire life!"

His panicked eyes stared up at the darkening sky, before lowering to meet her gaze...and then lowering even  _ more _ to look at her lips; which were still wet.

Suddenly, as if a fuse was lit under him, Sun snapped back up into a sitting position, "WAIT, DID I JUST STEAL  _ YOUR _ FIRST KISS!?!"

Em cackled at that, "Pff, you're not even  _ close _ to being my first! As I said, don't worry about it."

"B-but-"

With her good hand, the fox leaned forward and placed a finger on his lips, effectively silencing him, "It's ok, Sunny."

The canuki swallowed nervously, "...are you sure?"

She grinned, "Absolutely! Honestly, I don't think I could imagine our first kiss going any differently." 

"Why does that feel like an insult." Sun sighed, much to the fox's amusement; although it was clear she had something else on her mind.

"So…." She smirked.

"...so what?" 

"What did you think?" 

Sun flushed, "O-oh, are you talking about-"

She answered him with a knowing nod of her head, leaning closer; making the teen blush even darker, "As you said, you just stole your  _ first kiss. _ How was it?"

The canuki blinked down at her, "Uh, well…" He squinted his eyes, and licked his lips, "It w-was..um... k-kinda...  _ wet???" _

"...that’s it?" She raised an eyebrow.

Sun cringed, covering his face with his hands once again, "I-I don't know! I have no experience with this stuff! Plus, describing it feels weird and it went by so quickly!"

Em giggled with a shrug, "Well if you're worried about having no experience, I wouldn't mind if you practiced on me a little~"

The canuki hesitated, his eyebrows screwed up in confusion before scarlet red realization spread across his face; immediately, he turned away and went back to his wicker basket.

" _ M-man, I'm just dying for some sweet berries!"  _ He squeaked out, voice breaking, trying to change the subject. 

Em couldn't hold in her laughter.  _ Ah, well, maybe I'm moving a bit too quickly _ .

She brought her free hand up to her lips, which were still tingling. _Besides,_ _I'm more than happy with what I got._

  
  
  



	13. "You're probably enjoying this, aren't you?" (Sun and Em)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is the prompt :))
> 
> PLEASE READ THE FICS IN THIS SERIES BEFORE READING THIS! THANKS!
> 
> This is kinda a spiritual successor to my prompt "I'm gonna choke you." Lol

When Em started her day in the Pureheart valley, ready to scout out the narrow alleys and rooftops for tomorrow's jewel heist, she hadn't expected she would find herself watching over a certain Sheriff. Surprisingly, the arctic fox hadn't planned on seeing Sun today, as out of character that was; she had a full schedule and unfortunately, teasing the canuki couldn't fit anywhere in it. 

And yet, here she was, following him from the rooftops as he patrolled; her eyes glued to his maroon coat.

Sun walked down the cobblestone street, his orange scarf swaying in the wind as he moved along. Every now and again he would stop and say hello to the tourists or a sweetypie, a friendly smile across his face; but mostly, he traveled slowly, scanning the buildings for anything suspicious. In his paw was his famed golden dice, which he held in a closed fist; usually, he was fidgeting with the weapon, so it was odd to see the canuki hold it in a stilled manner.

Em couldn't help but feel unnerved by his body language; there was something… different than usual. Most of the time, Sun walked almost too perfectly, as his father taught him; posture straight and strides long, albeit sometimes clumsy. It reminded Em of someone who expected to see royalty at any moment, always  _ too _ put together. But now… he walked leisurely; his body completely relaxed.

That was the main reason why she found herself trailing behind the sheriff, a confused frown on her face.

_ What's up with him?  _ Em pondered, continuing to follow the canuki up on the rooftops.  _ Heh, maybe he finally got laid. That'd explain his easy-going demeanor. _

After that suggestive thought, she giggled to herself, nearly missing Sun turn into the alley she was just about to jump over. Em paused, and sneakily looked down into the crevice between the apartment buildings; curious as to what the canuki was doing.

Sun was inspecting what seemed to be a… dumpster? Lifting the lid to peek inside the blue box.  _ What in the world is he doing? _

Wanting to get a closer look, Em carefully scaled down the building's fire escape; silent as she slid down the metal ladder. 

The canuki seemed unaware of her presence and continued on with his mysterious task; as he pulled away from the dumpster and instead looked over the rest of the alley. It was clear he was looking for something, but the fox just couldn't figure out what the thing could be. 

As Em landed quietly on the cobblestone floor, directly behind him, she couldn't help but notice something strange with the Sheriff once again. 

He stood confidently. 

As stated before, Sun usually walked with perfect posture, but that doesn't necessarily equal confidence. You could easily see the uncertainty in his every step, no matter how flawless he walked. But now…

Sun stood with his hands behind his back, his fluffy shoulders strong and squared, as his tail leisurely flicked back and forth. 

At that moment, he looked like a spitting image of his father 

_ Man, maybe he really did get laid!  _ Em blinked in surprise.

"The weather is nice today." 

The fox froze at the familiar voice, her eyes widening at the cheerful, yet calm tone. 

Looking over his shoulder and meeting her gaze, was Sun; he didn't seem surprised to see her, his posture still relaxed yet strong, as he wore a friendly smile. His eyes however told a different story, although they appeared joyful, Em couldn't help but feel as shiver when she looked into them; he looked... pissed.

Before she could analyze his dark gaze, however, his expression suddenly changed into a more familiar sheepish, wiggly smile; and he closed his eyes in embarrassment, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just noticed you behind me and didn't know how to bring it up, heh heh…"

He laughed awkwardly, turning around completely so they stood in front of each other, fiddling nervously with his Dice.

Immediately, Em felt comforted as he took on more of his usual mannerisms. 

With a glint in her eye, she chuckled softly as well, "As if you could ever scare me, my sweet Sheriff."

"I suppose that's true." He frowned in concern, "Um, s-should I even ask what you're doing? You're not planning another robbery, are you?"

"Hm, you know me too well, Sunny." She smirked with a shrug, "I don't want to ruin the surprise, y'know."

He seemed flustered at his nickname, pausing for a few moments, "...I can't let you do that."

"What, rob innocent people of their life earnings?" Em snickered as she began to close the gap between them.

Sun bashfully looked away as she came closer and closer, "Y-Yeah,  _ that. _ I won't allow you."

"Ooh, what bravado! This town really doesn't deserve such a  _ wonderful  _ Sheriff," Now that the fox was close enough to lay her hands on his chest, she did so with a teasing expression, "You should come work for me instead, Sunny."

"W-what?"

"I said you should come work for me!" She stood on her tippy toes, so their noses were inches apart, "Of course, I can't pay, but I'm sure I could make it up to you in some other way~"

Sun's frown deepened at the suggestion, and he closed his eyes tightly, "...Why would I do that?"

_...I expected a more flustered response to that, but whatever, I'll take what I can get _ . 

Em giggled, and reached for his scarf, gently holding the end of the orange fabric in her paws, "Because you  _ love _ being around me, don't you?"

The canuki's eyes snapped open at that, but he stayed silent, looking down at her with furrowed eyebrows. 

Em continued, "You love getting tricked by me, love chasing me, love feeling me  _ press _ against you…"

At that last mention, she ground her body tightly against his, her eyes filled with unbridled lust, "You're  _ obsessed _ with me, aren't you, my love?"

Sun was silent.

"...I'm flattered of course, it's not every day a talented Sheriff like you lusts after me." Em laughed, pulling down on his scarf so he was forced to meet her gaze, "And I assure you, the feeling is mutual. Although, I am curious about…  _ something." _

_ "...What is it?" _ Sun finally broke his silence, his voice low and gravelly, as if he just woke up.

With a teasing smirk, Em looked up at him through her eyelashes, "Is it true what they say about tanuki's and their…  _ y'know." _

She glanced down in between them, "I've heard they tend to be… on the bigger side~"

_ If this doesn't fluster him, I don't know what will! _

"...If you're so curious, why don't you get on your knees and find out?"

Em immediately froze at his words, and her eyes snapped up to meet his gaze.  _ Wait… did he just say what I think he said?  _

The fox blinked, "P-pardon?"

Sun's tight frown suddenly grew into a flirtatious smirk, and he looked down at her with a dark gaze, "You heard me." 

His words and expression were so out of character that Em needed to pause for a moment to collect her bearings.  _ Is Sun actually… flirting back?  _

She was thrown from her thoughts at the feeling of one of his paws ghosting over her waist, as he used his other hand to tilt her chin upwards, "What,  _ cat got your tongue~?" _

Before she could respond, Em let out a shocked gasp as something tight suddenly began to wrap around her; forcing her legs together. With a quick glance down, it was easy to see what the problem was. Sun had taken his Dice, now transformed into a golden whip, and had speedily bound her; apparently, the hand on her waist had been part of the trick.

"W-what are you-!!!"

Em was interrupted by a sudden push, and thanks to her legs being stuck together, she began to fall; only to land roughly standing against the alley wall.  _ "Gah!" _

Sun was quickly upon her, leaving no space between them as their chests rubbed against one another; grabbing onto her hands, he held them over her head, trapping her in his grasp, "I would apologize for being rough, but I have a feeling you don't mind."

Letting out a quick chuckle, he looked down at her with dark cyan eyes, his expression a mixture of amusement and restrained rage, "You're probably enjoying this, aren't you?"

Em couldn't help but whimper under his intense gaze, her voice failing her. She was trapped.

Continuing, Sun smirked, "Honestly, I don't care either way, as long as you're listening, get your rocks off as  _ much _ as you like."

She shivered as those out of character words left his lips,  _ "L-listening to w-wh-" _

Suddenly, his free hand covered her muzzle, stopping whatever she was going to say. Em gasped in response.

_ "Shhhhh, _ did I say you could talk?" 

Hesitantly, she shook her head.

"That's right, I didn't, so shut up and listen."

Removing his hand from her mouth, he used it to brush bangs out of her eyes, "Do you know how much your bounty is worth?"

"H-huh?"

"10,000 gold, you're wanted in over 6 kingdoms." He answered for her, "Not too shabby for an 18-year-old. Of course, it'd look good on my record as well bringing someone like you in."

He gave her a cheeky grin, cocking his head in a manner that was far too innocent for the situation they were in, "Do you want that? For me to bring you to the nearest bounty office, bound and gagged, thrown over my shoulder? You'd probably get a kick out of it, right?"

Em swallowed, the mixture of pain from being bound with her hands forcefully held above her head, and his scent enveloping her was almost pleasurable. 

He snorted knowingly, but continued, "Well, it doesn't matter what you think. After all, it's your daddy calling the shots, and I doubt he'd like bailing you out. What was his name again… Vito Fatal?"

Em stilled at the sound of her father's name, her eyes wide with fear.

Sun shrugged, "I guess it doesn't matter anyway, it seems to me you're beginning to understand the situation you're in." 

Suddenly leaning forward, his lips brushed against her ear, causing the fox to shiver, "Leave the Pureheart Valley at once, or I'll happily cash in your bounty. It wouldn't be difficult, y'know. You act tough but you're nothing but a weak little fox trying to gain daddy's love." 

Em didn't reply, her breath stuck in her chest.

"Heh, that's what I thought, you've got no more tricks up your sleeve, Fatal." Suddenly pulling away, Sun allowed his whip to transform back into its Dice form, catching it in his hand.

Em slid down the alley wall, with nothing left to hold her to it, her weak legs couldn't stand her weight. 

Sun smirked at the sight, "If it makes you feel better, when I was searching for you this morning, it  _ did _ take me a while to track you down."

The arctic fox tiredly looked up to meet his gaze, "Y-you were looking for me?"

He nodded, "You're quite crafty, y'know. It's a shame that talent is going to waste." 

Em flinched at the insult.

"It's not too late to change though, I can see a lot of potential in you." Giving her a sheepish grin, something that seemed almost  _ too _ normal, he continued, "Just… don't work on your character development in the Pureheart Valley, I stick to my promises, and your 10,000 bounty looks  _ awfully _ good."

Flashing her a quick wave, he turned around and headed back onto the main street, "Later then!" 

Em could do nothing but stare after him. 

_...Ancestors help me.  _

  
  


* * *

  
  


Sun brushed off the tiny white furs on his scarf as he walked down main street. He had just finished his…  _ talk _ with Em Fatal, and he was feeling awfully good about himself.  _ That went better than expected! She responded just as I thought she would, although at times she was a little… annoying. _

The canuki wrinkled his nose at the thought of her incessant flirting.  _ There were times when I was barely holding on to my anger.  _

Straightening his belt as he traveled along, he sighed.  _ Nonetheless, if she's smart she'll be out of the valley by dusk. And if not, then Marmalade and I can split the gold.  _

Sun paused.  _ Hm, speaking of Marmalade… _

Tapping the earpiece he wore, he smiled, "Hey, you still there?"

There was a hesitation, before a long sigh came from the device,  **_"Ugh, unfortunately."_ **

"Oh, c'mon kiddo, that went great!"

**_"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it! Do you realize how awkward it was to hear Sun of all people say that shit?!"_ **

"Of course I do," Sun's smirk widened, "I'm his mother after all."

And with that, the canuki's form suddenly disappeared under a cloud of magic, as Tanya transformed back to her usual self; no longer pretending to be the young Sheriff.

**_"I guess it was necessary though."_ ** Marmalade sighed, the sound coming out staticky,  **_"You definitely fooled her."_ **

"It was a good idea." Tanya smiled, "Making Sun of all people threaten her like  _ that? _ She would be an idiot  _ not _ to hit the road."

**_"Hopefully we never have to see her again."_ **

Tanya paused in front of a cafe, "Yes, hopefully…"

Making her way to one of the outdoor tables, the tanuki sat down in the metal chair, letting out a sigh as she finally rested; that ordeal took more out of her than she thought, "Alright, I'm back at the cafe."

**_"Thanks for helping me with this, Mrs. Keys."_ **

"It was no issue, girlie," Tanya replied, "I didn't like hearing about Em either, you know."

**_"I don't think anybody did."_ ** Marmalade paused,  **_"... Oh, it seems like Sun is making his way back from the bathroom and to you, I better go."_ **

"See you around."

**_"You too. Cutting transmission."_ **

At that, Tanya took the earpiece out from her ear, as well as Sun's Dice from her pocket; placing both on the tabletop in front of the chair opposite of her. 

_ Mission complete. _

It was only a few moments later did Sun come back from inside the cafe, sitting himself down at the table, "Sorry, there was a long wait so it took a while-"

"Don't worry about it, Sunshine." Tanya smiled, "You did forget your things here though."

Sun's eyes found his items on the table, and he jumped, "H-huh? That's strange, I swear I had these in my belt."

"Be more careful, Kitten. If you lose that Dice of yours, your father might tear down the entire kingdom trying to find it."

Sun chuckled sheepishly at the thought, and slid his things back into his pocket, "I'll try to keep that in mind, heh".

Tanya smiled, "So, where were we? 

"Hmm… oh! I was telling you about the time I ruined a jewelry heist!"

"Then please proceed." 

So Sun did, and as Tanya listened to her son's exciting tale, she couldn't help but wonder.  _ Will he forgive me when he finds out what I did? _

  
  
  
  



	14. "We are no longer friends" (Cato and Pan)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this one ended up being REALLY long. The ending is kinda abrupt because... it was gonna go on forever lol. I just like these ocs too much. 
> 
> Speaking of ocs, Cato and Pan are two new ones! Cato is the son of Sun and Marmalade, and Pan is the son of Em and Panther. They're no way canon at this point, but I just felt like playing around with a few new ideas haha. Speaking of Pan though, basically just as I was finishing this prompt, I changed his personality A LOT. And I didn't have time to rewrite him in this, although I did change some smalls things, so please know that Pan is VERY ooc in this prompt. The majority of things on my blog about Pan will no longer be canon as well, so just keep that in mind :)
> 
> The chapter title is the prompt :))
> 
> PLEASE READ THE FICS IN THIS SERIES BEFORE READING THIS! THANKS!

Usually, such a crowded tavern would’ve been off-putting for Pan; it wasn’t as if he was known for his love of cramp places, questionable smells, and being elbowed by uncaring patrons. If anything, the nineteen-year-old was famous for hating the deafening yet joyful atmosphere that came with such establishments; he would rather spend his days walking along forest trails, thinking of new inventions, and enjoying the peaceful hum of nature. 

Yet, as the fox-cat hybrid sat at the bar, sipping on his root bear with his journal in front of him; he couldn’t help but bask in the warmth that he found himself in. Maybe it was because of how well his mission had gone today, or perhaps his drink was helping lift his stress off his shoulders.

Or there was a chance it was Pan’s company that had boosted his mood. 

_ Well, I doubt that. I mean, Cato and I have been partners for years now. It’s not like he’s doing anything new that would make me happier. If anything, he’s being his usual annoying self. _

At that teasing yet loving thought, Pan glanced to his right, where the person of conversation sat.

The sixteen-year-old in question, Cato, had his muzzle buried in a large spoonful of broth; which he was slurping up almost  _ too _ noisily. Pan doubted the cat could even hear how loud he was being thanks to the wireless headphones stuffed in his ears.  _ Chances are he’s listening to some sort of audiobook about ancient magic or something.  _

The cat placed his spoon back into the bowl and scooped up some more broth; before bringing it back to his lips. Cato’s eyes were hidden by the shadows of his Breton hat as he continued to listen, yet Pan could only guess that he was quizzically looking into his bowl of soup as he let the information from the book soak into his brain. 

Even though the tavern was packed, Pan knew his friend collected stares from all across the room. The mixture of his loud eating habits and the fact he was wearing his hat indoors were to blame. It didn’t seem the cat cared though, as he continued to listen to his book and eat his dinner in silence. 

_ Well, I guess this isn’t true… he has to care a  _ little _ if he’s wearing that aforementioned hat of his. _

Of course, the excuse his partner always gave when asked about  _ that _ particular fashion choice was that it protected his eyes from the sun; but with almost six years of friendship under Pan’s belt, he knew differently. 

Although Cato was labeled as “blind,” Pan knew that the cat could see much more than the average person. He may not view surface-level things like everyone else, but what he  _ can _ see is much deeper than anyone could even begin to imagine; a gift handed to him thanks to his natural inclination towards magic and beyond.

And his eyes reflected that.

While you may expect a blind person’s gaze to be clouded, Cato’s was anything but. His stare is enough to make any normal person stop in their tracks and fear well up in their chest; it was intense. Harsh. Cutting. It dug into your very person and analyzed the concentrated light that made up  _ you.  _

...

As you may expect, some people don’t like having their souls looked at.  _ Yeah, but it's not like he can control it or anything. That’s just how he sees things! How can you bully someone for that? _

Yet they did, and even though he outwardly shrugged off insults such as  _ creepy  _ and  _ freak _ , Pan knew it hurt him.  _ So he hides his gaze under his hat, where the shadows drown out its intensity. Although, if you ask me, he probably could’ve picked more… normal-looking headwear. I mean, who can go wrong with a pair of sunglasses? _

Pan was brought out of his thoughts at the sound of a loud slurp, and he couldn’t help but snort and turn back to his journal.  _ Each to their own I suppose. _

Forcing his concentration back onto his journal, the fox-cat hybrid took another sip of his wine, before picking up his pen once again.  _ What was it I was doing again? Er…. aha! Right, I wanted to write about this region's electrical grid. _

Leaning back in his stool, Pan pushed his bangs back out of his face and let out a soft hum, as he tried to picture what he wanted to write in his head. Without much thought, he let his gaze travel the room. 

_ Let’s see… a woman I spoke with in the village told me that they receive their energy primarily from hydro. _

Near the bathrooms was an arm-wrestling contest against a tiger and a crane; it was clear the former was winning, the bird’s wing was far too fragile to even stand a chance. He let his gaze lay on that for a few moments, before continuing across the room, his attention still mostly on his thoughts.

_ I believe they use some sort of water wheel. Their design was interesting, but I'm pretty sure if I had spent more time in the village I could've made it more efficient. _

Next to the arm wrestling was quite clearly a young couple, who had taken up an entire booth while they made out; their limbs flailing clumsily, fueled by irresponsible alcohol consumption. Once again, his gaze moved on. 

_ I'll have to look into it when I get back home and I'm in my workshop. It wouldn't take too long to write up some blueprints. _

Finally, as he was coming out of his thoughts, his eyes fell to a lone rabbit, who sat by her lonesome at a table not far off. She had a fruity looking drink in front of her, clearly alcohol-free, and what seemed to be a sketchbook next to it. Thanks to her rather large ears and bright fur, she stood out against the other customers; they looked quite drab in comparison. 

Usually, even though she seemed like a nice girl, this wouldn’t be enough to warrant any more thinking on the matter, and Pan would return to his journal without a second thought. However, there was something strange about this girl that fully roused him from his brainstorming.

She was staring.

But not at him.

At Cato. 

Immediately, a small flame of worry and protectiveness sparked in his belly.  _ She isn’t looking for a fight now, is she? I really don’t feel like telling off a bully on such a nice day.  _

Quickly though, those worrisome thoughts vanished as he noticed one more thing.

Her gaze was full of curiosity, not malice. She was  _ interested _ in his friend, not freaked out.  _ I mean, if anything, it looks as though she’s blushing…? _

Pan couldn’t help but feel surprised at this turn of events; it wasn’t like a girl, or anyone for that matter, had shown potential romantic interest towards Cato before.  _ I mean, it’s not because he’s “ugly” or anything either. He’s just… well, on the stranger side.  _

Pan’s gaze turned back to his partner’s form, where he was still hunched over his dinner with his headphones on; he was probably pretty content right now.

_...But maybe he would be more content talking to a pretty girl? _

To be honest, Pan doubted it, the younger teen had never shown interest in romance before, but the idea of his friend having to partake in awkward flirting was far too good of an opportunity to give up on. _ This is either gonna be hilarious or traumatic.  _

With one final glance in the girl’s direction, Pan leaned towards his partner and gently tugged on his shoulder fur, “Hey."

The cat hesitated for a few moments, before placing his spoon beside his bowl and sliding his headphones off, reaching over to his phone to pause his book, “What is it?”

Pan ignored the annoyance in the teen’s voice, a sheepish grin making its way across his face, “Across the tavern, there’s a girl checking you out.”

Cato adjusted his hat, his gaze still glued to his dinner, “Is there now?”

Instantly, just knowing by the tone of his voice, Pan let out a frustrated sigh, “...You already noticed, didn't you?”

He only shrugged in response, bringing a spoonful of broth to his mouth; now that the audiobook was off, he was considerably quieter while eating.

“Wait, how could you even tell?” The fox-hybrid questioned, feeling somewhat annoyed his plan had gone awry, “It’s not like you can  _ see _ her staring at you.”`

“I can feel it though. Her gaze is warm.” Cato admitted, eyebrows furrowing in thought, “Besides, I don’t think I could ignore a soul as bright as her’s if I tried.”

Pan blinked at that, glancing over at the rabbit as if to check for himself, “She has a bright soul?

“Blinding.” The cat finally turned to face Pan, cocking his head to the side, “It was difficult to concentrate on my reading because of it.”

“Difficult to concentrate…” He repeated, his eyes widening, “Well, then you should go talk to her!"

Cato went silent at that, stiffly turning back to face his dinner, “I’m busy.”

"Your book can wait."

"My soup will get cold."

"Pretty girls don't come around like this often."

"Good, that leaves me more time to read." 

Pan huffed in annoyance, shaking his head softly, "Jeez, do you have to be so stubborn? It's not like she'll bite! Just go over there and say hello, it'll take five minutes tops."

It was now Cato's turn to sigh, clearly frustrated with his friend, "As I said, I'm busy. Now can you let me finish my dinner in peace? We have to leave in a few minutes if we wanna stay on schedule."

The fox-cat hybrid hesitated, glaring at the younger teen, before finally letting out a groan, "Fine fine, if your book is that important to you…"

"It is." The cat adjusted his hat so he could place his headphones back in his ears; the movement casting light on parts of his face that were hidden before.

And that's when Pan saw it.

On his temple, a place that his hat had previously hidden, was beading sweat; enough that Pan knew it couldn't have been because of his soup, or the warmth of the hat itself.  _ Which means... _

Cato was nervous.

That in itself was unusual; the teen was famous for being stoic, keeping his feelings in check while rarely allowing any truly passionate expressions across his face. The fact he was sweating about this said a lot. 

Without much of a second thought, Pan reached forward and pulled out one of his headphones. Although, instead of flinching as one would expect, the blind cat only sighed and closed his eyes.

"What is it now-"

“You’re lying.”

That seemed to catch the cat’s attention, and he lifted his gaze to meet Pan’s glare; his intense eyes barely visible under the brim of his hat, “Pardon?”

"I said, you’re _lying._ You don’t want to talk to that girl because you're _scared,_ right?" Pan challenged, "That whole _soup reading_ thing is just an excuse.”

Cato’s shoulders tensed up, and he averted his gaze back to the bartop.

"And look, it's normal to be nervous about this type of stuff, but that shouldn’t stop you from at least trying it out.” Pan tried his best to comfort him. "Worse comes to worst, you never have to talk to her again, right?”

"...You speak as though you have experience. " Cato finally broke his silence, turning to look in his direction, his frown harsher than usual, "Yet I know for a fact you're just as hopeless as I am."

"Aha! So you admit you're hopeless!"

Cato's tail flicked and he pursed his lips; clearly, he had let his tongue slip. 

Pan couldn't help but smirk; he had the high ground, "Okay, look. If you _ really _ don't want to go talk to her then that's fine. I'm just saying if there's even  _ one percent _ of you that is curious, you should go for it before you lose your chance."

The fox-hybrid shrugged and raised his hands in mock surrender, “The decision is left to you though, it’s not like I can  _ force _ you to do it.”

At that final statement, the cat turned his gaze away from Pan and let out a sigh, as he harshly pulled the brim of his hat down over his eyes in annoyance; his shoulders tense, and his tail twitching. Pan immediately recognized it as his "thinking" pose; he had a bad habit of doing it when his brain was working too fast for its own good.

"And I mean, if you want, I can come with you too. Like, backup or some-"

"Okay."

"I- _ wait what?" _

"Okay." Cato shrugged with a soft sigh, his posture softening as he placed both his headphones and phone into his bag. "Let's get this over with."

"You're… you're actually doing it?" Pan blinked.

The cat nodded and hopped off the stool, adjusting his hat carefully back into place, "Haven't I made that clear? I'm waiting for you."

"...O-oh! Yeah, sorry, let me just-" Pan scrambled to shove his belongings into his tool belt, as well as placing their payment on the bar top- "I just wasn't expecting my stupid speech to work on you."

"They usually don't." The teen admitted, "Yet, you were correct about one thing. There _ is _ a part of me that is curious about her...”

The blind cat’s voice trailed off as his gaze lifted to where the girl sat; she had gone back to her drink once they had begun to pack up their things, it seemed she was unaware of their plan. Of course, Pan knew Cato wouldn’t be able to see any of that, yet based on the nervous look in his eyes, Pan guessed he must’ve at least seen  _ something _ mildly interesting in her.  _ What had he said before? That her soul was blinding? That’s high praise coming from someone who is literally blind. Although, I have to wonder, what that could even look like… and if that’s even a good thing.  _

“Let’s get a move on then…” Cato muttered meekly, much to Pan’s surprise.

Flashing the cat a quick thumbs-up, the older teen grinned widely, “I believe in you!”

With an annoyed flick of his eyes, Cato waved him away, “…Stay behind me and don’t say anything.”

Silently, Pan did as he told and followed Cato as he walked over to the girl’s table. Usually, Pan would’ve been mildly concerned he might run into something, especially in such a crowded building, yet this time that wasn’t the case; it was clear he was a man on a mission, guided solely on the lonely girl’s soul.

It wasn’t until they were only a few meters away did the bunny notice their approach.

Her pale blue eyes widened at the sight of the two boys now standing in front of her table, as she quickly closed what seemed to be a sketchbook. Brushing her curly bangs out of her face, she gave the pair a sweet smile, “Can I help y-”

“Why were you staring at me?”

Pan jumped at Cato’s question, and he couldn’t help but cringe as he stood behind the cat.  _ I should be used to his bluntness by now, yet he still somehow manages to surprise me… _

The girl seemed surprised at his direct line of questioning as well, but she easily shook it off, her cheeks dusted pink, “Ah, I apologize. I didn’t realize you had noticed.”

Pan, on damage control, stepped forward; holding his hands up as if surrendering, “It’s alright, really! We were just wondering if you had recognized us from somewhere."

Cato raised an eyebrow at that lie, yet he luckily kept his mouth shut.

The bunny chuckled softly and scratched at the back of her head sheepishly, her gaze raising in an attempt to meet Cato’s, “Oh, it’s nothing like that! I was just admiring your eye markings. I’ve never seen a cat with them before so…”

She trailed off with a bubbly laugh, closing her eyes in embarrassment, “Um, sorry, that probably sounds creepy.”

“My…eye markings?” Cato couldn’t help but mutter to himself.

She nodded, pulling open the sketchbook that sat in front of her, “You see, I travel around the Kingdoms and I often sketch the people I meet along the way, so I’ve seen my fair share of... _ uniqueness.” _

As if to prove her point, she pushed the open book towards them. Cato, who would obviously not get anything from looking at it, continued to quizzically stare at the bunny; so Pan was the one who had to glance at the drawings. It was true, the book was full of various sketches of multiple different species; it was quite diverse.

“Wow, you're really good!” Pan grinned, glancing back to the girl.

She nodded in thanks, but continued with her explanation, “As I was saying, I’ve seen my fair share of uniqueness, yet I have  _ never _ seen a cat with your type of eye markings before! I was just admiring them, you see.”

Cato was silent for a few moments, his hand rising under the brim of his hat to trace the fur around his eyes, “...I have eye markings?”

Pan couldn’t help but snort at his question, although based on how confused the girl looked, he doubted she understood what the cat had meant.

“Um, pardon?” She asked, her brows furrowed in confusion.

“He’s blind.” 

“Oh.” She paused before her eyes widened once again; a smile coming across her face. “...Oh! I see!"

Usually, that would've been the moment when Cato replied with a pun like  _ “Well I don’t” _ but it was clear he was still confused about the whole eye markings conversation; his frown tight. Had he really gone his entire life not knowing he had dark rings around his eyes? 

Noticing his hesitation, the bunny’s grin widened and she stood up.

“Here, why don’t I show you then?”

Cato managed to make a questioning _ huh _ sound before her rounded snout was suddenly shoved in his face, effectively silencing him. Still, his expression was neutral, even though Pan could make out a bead of sweat dripping from under his hat.

“...What are you doing?” He deadpanned, his questioning gaze effectively hidden under his hat. 

“I’m going to touch your face.” She answered.

Before Cato or Pan could respond, the bunny suddenly reached forward to grab onto the bill of his hat, tipping it upward so his face became fully visible. Cato's expression was no longer hidden in shadow, as he stared at the girl in shocked wonder; As if he was thinking,  _ are you serious? _ Cringing, Pan gritted his teeth and forced himself not to look away.  _ Either she’s gonna take a look at his eyes and make a break for it, or he’s gonna use magic and turn her into a potted plant. Shit. _

Yet to his surprise, neither of those things happened. If anything, her smile seemed to widen when his gaze, which seemed softer than usual, became visible. And other than a soft gasp as she gently brushed the bangs out of his face, Cato stayed silent as well; his arms awkwardly falling to his sides while his expression became shaky, like he was fighting to keep his composure together.

Not wasting any time, the bunny tenderly laid a single finger against the inner corner of his right eye, and leisurely began to trace the marking; following the darker fur as it came under his eyebrow and ended in a point, before sloping back down under his eye. Once that side was done, she switched to the left eye, once again following the dark fur. 

As Cato got used to the touch, his posture loosened, and gently his eyes fluttered shut as he paid attention to her touch, leaning into it; even exhaling a soft sigh before she finished and pulled away. He looked almost… disappointed when she sat back down in her chair.

“Do you see what I mean now?” She giggled, taking a step back, “If anything it reminds me of a raccoon’s mask. They're quite pretty."

“I…I understand.” Cato finally managed to grumble after blinking at the girl for a few moments, pulling his cap harshly down to hide his flustered expression; a blush barely visible under the hat's shadow, “...I suppose I inherited it from my father.”

“Your father?”

Pan nodded, still trying to wrap his mind around what just happened, “Yes, his dad is half cat half tanuki."

The bunny’s gaze lit up, “Oh that makes perfect sense! Tanukis  _ do _ tend to have patterns like that! Although I can’t help but be curious, it’s not every day you hear of a tanuki and a cat having a child."

Cato couldn’t help but snort at that, it seemed he had finally pulled himself together after the bunny's stunt, “I have to listen to my grandparent’s love story every holiday dinner, I could recite it perfectly if need be."

The bunny giggled, a sly smile making its way across her face, “Well, if you have the time, I’d love to hear it."

“Oh, actually, we have to go soon.” Pan laughed awkwardly, jumping in, “It’s because of work.”

“Oh, I see. Well then,” Turning back to her table, the bunny made quick work of ripping a scrap of paper out of her notebook and scrawling something down onto it, before turning back to the pair; gently placing the scrap into Cato’s open palm, “Here’s my number! Call me and we can set something up! I really am curious about that story.”

Her wide grin quickly died out however when realization crossed her face, “Oh wait, you can’t see the numbers-”

With an annoyed huff, the blind cat stuffed the paper into his bag, “I’ll manage.”

With her expression lighting up again, she smiled, “Ah, well, I hope to hear from you…”

“Cato Mao-Keys.” The teen extended his hand, “And this is Pan Fatal,”

“Cato and Pan… Lovely!” She reached forward, accepting his handshake, “I’m Bonnie Tuzi! But you can just call me Bon.”

“I’ll be seeing you soon then, Miss. Tuzi.” Cato nodded, before pulling and turning away, selectively ignoring the last part of what she said, “Have a fair night.”

“You too!”

Pan waved goodbye to their new friend and followed after the cat, making their way to the exit. As they stepped outside, the moon lighting the gravel pathway spread out in front of them, the fox-cat hybrid couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief; the rowdy atmosphere had been beginning to get the best of him. 

Beside him, Cato was tracing the marking around his eye just as Bon was doing just a few minutes prior, a troubled expression plaguing his face. Pan could almost see the younger teen's lightning-fast thoughts buzzing around in his head, as he tried to figure out what had just happened. 

"Sooooo…" Pan began. 

Cato's head shot up.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" The fox-cat hybrid continued, smiling sweetly, gesturing towards his friend, "You seem… excited?"

The cat blinked at that, before quickly pulling his hand away from his eye, as if he has just realized what he had been doing, "...I think the more accurate term would be-"

"Traumatized?"

"No."

"Pleased?"

"Not exactly."

"Turned on?"

Cato bristled and glanced away, decidedly ignoring that last one, "Perplexed is a good word for it."

"Yeah, I'd say flirting is a pretty perplexing thing." Pan chuckled softly, before closing the space in between them, patting the younger teen on his head, "But you did well. I mean, the beginning was a bit rocky, but she didn't seem to mind."

"Yes, she seemed…intriguing." He nodded in agreement as he fixed his hat, which had gotten almost knocked off from Pan's pats, "I do intend to call her."

At that, the cat reached into his bag, shuffling through it for a few moments, before finally pulling out his phone.

Pan raised an eyebrow, "Wait wait wait, you're calling her  _ right _ now?"

"I was only going to ask you to add her phone number into my contacts." Cato frowned, suddenly pulling his phone close to his chest, "... _ Should _ I call her now?"

"No! You saw her five minutes ago!" Pan sighed, dragging a hand down his face, "No sane person calls that soon after you get a number. You have to, I don't know, wait a few days."

"Why is that?" 

"I don't know, dating etiquette? I mean, you are trying to date her right?" Pan asked, but when Cato stayed silent, he continued, "Just trust me on this one. I've got at  _ least _ two times more experience with this stuff than you do."

Cato rolled his eyes,  _ "Two times zero is still zero…" _

"H-hey! Did you-"

"Just put her number into my phone already." Cato pushed his device, as well as the slip of paper with her number on it, into Pan's hands, effectively silencing him. 

With a grumpy grumble, the fox-cat hybrid frowned as he unlocked Cato's phone, and found his way to the contacts app. Quickly inputting her number in, as well as putting her contact as  _ Cute Tavern Bunny,  _ Pan saved it to the phone, "Alright, done."

"Thank you." Cato nodded, putting out his hand, "We should start making our way to the train sta-"

"I'm gonna call Sensei first."

The cat blinked at Pan's interruption, and he couldn't help but quirk a brow, "...You're going to talk to my father? Why?"

Pan shrugged as he scrolled through Cato's contacts, "I don't know, I think it'd be funny to hear his reaction to his only son getting a girlfriend." 

"She isn't my girlfriend. We just met."

"Yeah, but you  _ liiiiiikkkkeere _ her~" The cat-fox hybrid teased, as he finally found Sun's number. 

"I didn't mind her company if that's what you're inferring." Cato's frown deepened as Pan brought the phone up to his ear, "Hang up or else." 

"This is payback for calling me a virgin."

"I didn't call you a virgin… I merely implied it." He shrugged. "Besides, I didn't lie, did I?"

"You're such an asshole." 

"And you'll be dead if you don't give me that phone right now." Cato took a step forward. "3…"

Pan couldn't help but grin teasingly as he waited for the call to go through, "Ooh you gonna count down? How scary."

"2…" He took another step. 

The ringing ceased, as the call finally went through.

_ "Hey, kiddo."  _ Sun's voice suddenly cut through the boys' silence; you could hear his smile in his tone. _ "What's going on?" _

"Hi Sensei, it's Pan," He smiled as well, "Just wanted to call because something  _ crazy _ just hap-"

"1."

"-OOF!" 

Pan let out a grunt of pain as Cato suddenly rammed into his side, the younger boy desperately trying to grab at the device; thanks to his blindness, however, the effort was mostly fruitless, "OW, HEY!"

_ "Pan, hello?" _ Sun's voice sounded unsure, but neither of the boys paid much attention to it; as Pan struggled to keep the device in his hands.

"Give it to me!" Cato frowned as he finally grabbed onto the phone, pulling at it with all his might. 

"I'm trying to have a conversation here!" Pan hissed back, as the two boys played tug of war. 

Sun, still confused and his tone filled with worry and static, asked, _ "Are you alright, Pan?!"  _

"I'll be fine once this idiot let's go!"

"That's rich coming from you," Cato replied snarkily back. 

"Oh please! You're the dumb one in this duo!" The fox-cat hybrid snorted, "Mr.  _ I didn't know I had eye markings!" _

"So now you have resorted to mocking my disability?" Cato's voice was monotone, but Pan could swear he saw a glimmer of humor in his intense gaze, "Low blow."

Getting tired of this game, Pan finally was able to pull away from Cato; holding the phone high above his head and out of the cat's reach. "Ugh, this is stupid! You're making Sensei worry for no reason."

"Weren't you the one that called him just so you could embarrass me?"

"Yeah, well, now I also remembered some other things I wanted to talk with him about." He sneered, tone teasing, "Like maybe getting a different partner for my next mission, cause  _ clearly _ you're a crackpot."

Cato took a step back as well, as he flattened his ruffled fur; his hat unable to hide his intense gaze, "I'm a crackpot you say?"

And suddenly his mouth, which more often than not was stoic and straight, tilted upwards at the ends; as the cat began to chuckle, "It's funny you say that."

"Why?"

"Because I was about to say the same thing about  _ you." _ Before Pan could even think about dodging, Cato grabbed a blood-red leaf out of thin air and threw it in his direction. 

It wasn't long after that a puff of smoke and a jingle of transformation played, as a violet colored pot landed on the gravel-covered grown; a perfectly jagged crack down its lid. Cato's phone landed on the floor beside the pottery, the person who had been holding it gone. 

Walking over, the cat reached down and picked up both the pot and phone; lifting the latter to his ear. 

"Hey, dad."

_ "Oh, Cato!" _ Sun gasped.  _ "I was worried you two were ambushed! What happened?" _

"Pan and I had a… disagreement, so I turned him into a pot," Cato answered bluntly, holding said pot in between his hip and his arm.

_ "You… what?"  _

"Well, he called me a crackpot, which I thought was rude. So I turned him into one using my magic." The teen shrugged, "I figured I should teach him an important lesson on kindness, or whatever it is that you talk about."

Cato could practically hear the facepalm through the phone, as his father sighed exasperatedly,  _ "...Cato." _

"Yes?"

_ "You can't just transform people into pottery when you're mad with them. We've been through this." _

"I wasn't mad, I was merely disappointed."

Sun sighed again, _ "Your mother will not be happy about this." _

"We both know she'll love it." 

_ "Well, Em most certainly won't." _ Sun muttered mostly to himself, before continuing,  _ "Anyway, what was the reason why you called?" _

Cato paused for a few moments, wracking his brain for an excuse, "...I just wanted to tell you that I missed you."

"...Really?" Sun questioned, and although Cato could hear the disbelief in his voice, there was hope in it too.

It wasn't a secret that they had a more distant relationship compared to that of his siblings, Ramona and Ava. And it didn't help that Cato always preferred spending time with his mother instead, since of her background with magic and his interest in it. To be honest, Sun and Cato just didn't have that much in common, although that didn't stop his father from trying. More often than not though, those attempts always failed, much to Sun's disappointment.

It was clear that hearing those simple words from his son was quite touching to the canuki though. Especially considering how guarded Cato was of his feelings; it seemed as though that was one of the only traits they shared, other than their clear physical similarities.

"...Yes, that's all."

_ "Ah… well, I-I miss you too, Cato." _ Sun said lovingly,  _ "The house has been quiet without you two. Ava keeps on asking when her big brother will be back." _

Even Cato's stoicness was no match against the mention of his little sister, the cat couldn't help but smile softly, "We will be home soon."

"I'm counting the days." Sun chuckled. "Just try not to turn anybody else into pottery, okay? And  _ please _ turn Pan back as soon as possible."

"...Fine, okay." Cato agreed with a sigh. If they wanted to be back in time, they'd have to leave for the station soon. "I have to go now."

_ "Alright, take care, son." _ Sun said softly,  _ "I love you." _

"...you too."

And with that, Cato hung up the phone, before carefully sliding the device into his bag; as he precariously held Pan the pot in his other hand.  _ Time to turn you back, I suppose. Shame. I like him more like this. _

Placing the pottery on the gravel ground, Cato took a few steps back away from it, letting out a soft sigh as he waved his hand. 

Suddenly, where the pot once sat, was Pan, a red leaf hanging from his muzzle; his expression a mixture of annoyance and shock.

"Welcome back." Cato allowed a teasing smile to come across his face as he stepped forward, offering a hand to the fox-cat hybrid, who currently sat on the gravel ground.

"We are no longer friends." Pan huffed as he took his hand, pulling himself up, his expression screwed up in amusement. 

"You'd miss me." 

Pan sighed as he brushed the dirt off his tool belt, "...Yeah probably." 

"Let's just call us even then." Cato turned away, as they began to walk away from the tavern.

"That's probably for the best."


End file.
